WP - Smile - E-Commerce PDF

E-Commerce
Open Source Solutions

An overview of tools and the main functional concepts of a trading site
Writers: Frdric de Gombert Florent Sabourin For further information: www.smile.fr Tel.: +33 (0)1 41 40 11 00 Mailto: sdc@smile.fr
Page 2
E-Commerce, open source solutions
[1] PREAMBLE [1.1] Smile

Smile is a company comprised of engineers specialising in the implementation of open source solutions and the integration of systems based on open source solutions. Smile is a member of !"#$% an association focused on the promotion and protection of free software. With o&er '(( employees in France% and ')( throughout the world *+une ,(1(-% Smile is the leading French .pen Source solution company. Since around the year ,(((% Smile has been acti&ely monitoring the technological mar/et% allowing us to identify% to test and assess the most promising open source solutions. We can then present our clients with the strongest% most sustainable% most efficient products a&ailable. 0his approach has gi&en way to a whole range of white papers co&ering &arious different application sectors. 1ontent management *,((2-3 portals *,(()-3 business intelligence *,((4-3 !5! framewor/s *,((6-3 &irtualisation *,((6-3 digital document management *,((7-3 and 8"!s *,((7-. mong the wor/s published in ,((9% the :.pen Source ;!<s=% and :.pen Source flow controls and Firewalls= articles% within the :Systems and #nfrastructures= collection are also of interest. 8ach of these wor/s offers a selection of the best open source solutions in the rele&ant domain% their respecti&e >ualities% and feedbac/ on operational use. s stable open source solutions slowly gain ground in new sectors% Smile will be present to offer customers the benefit of these solutions ris/ free. Smile appears in the French #.0. mar/et as the integration ser&ice pro&ider of choice% to assist ma?or companies in adopting the best open source solutions. Smile has also de&eloped a range of ser&ice offers o&er the last few years. consultancy department has assisted our clients since ,(()% through prepro?ect phases% solution research% and pro?ect support. #n ,(((% Smile created a graphics studio which in ,((6 became /nown as 0he #nteracti&e @edia gency. 0his agency offers not only graphic design ser&ices% but also eAmar/eting% editorial% and rich interface eBpertise. Smile also has an agency specialiCing in 0hirdAparty pplication @aintenance% application support and application processing. Smile offices can be found in !aris% $yon% <antes% DordeauB and @ontpellier% with presence in <etherlands *De<e$uB office-% Spain% SwitCerland% the E/raine and @orocco.
Cop rig!t " #mile $ %pe& #o'rce #ol'tio&s " (ll '&a't!orised reprod'ctio& is strictl for)idde&
Page 3
[1.1.1] Some Smile references

a) Web sites $aboratoires Doiron% Foncia% 1rdit 1oopratif% 8@# @usic% Salon de lF griculture% @aCars% re&a% Socit Gnrale% GGtes de France% !atrice !ichet% Groupama% 8coA 8mballage% 1Fnews% 18 % !risma !ub% ;olia% <"+% +1HecauB% $arousse% (1 #nformati>ue% Spie% !S % Doiron% HassaultASystImes% ction 1ontre la Faim% D<! !aribas% ir !ays de $oire% Forum des #mages% #F!% D5;% Je@edical% Gallimard% 1he&al @ag% fssaps% 1<#$K b) Portals and Intranets 8urosport% 581% Douygues 0elecom% !risma% ;eolia% r?owiggins% #< % !rimagaC% 1roiB "ouge% #n&i&o% Faceo% 1hLteau de ;ersailles% #psos% ;S1 0echnologies% Sanef% 8Bplorimmo% Dureau ;eritas% "gion 1entre% Hassault SystImes% Fondation dF uteuil% Morian% !ages+aunes nnonces% !rimagaCK c) Electronic Document Management and ECM gefiph% !rimagaC% E1FF% pa&e% Goser&ices% "enault F1 0eam% #<"# % 1#H+% S<1H% 8cureuil Gestion% 1S informati>ue% SerimaB% ;olia !ropret% <etasN% 1orep% !ac/etis% lstom !ower Ser&ices% @aCarsK d) E business Furet du <ord% 1amif 1ollecti&it% $a 5alle% He Hietrich% denclassifieds% @acif% GGtes de France% G!dis% $ongchamp% !ro?ectif% 80S% Dain O Spa% P&es "ocher% Douygues #mmobilier% <estl% Stanhome% ;F !rimdical% 11#% !ompiers de France% 1ommissariat Q lF8nergie tomi>ueK e) Business Intelligence and ERP $afarge% Groupe ccueil% ne&ia% !ro?ectif% Rine/% 1ompaneo% d&ans% !oint !% @indscape% $oyalty 8Bperts% 1ecim% 8space $oggia% <ou&elles FrontiIres% France,2% $a !oste% 5ome1ineSolutions% ;ocatis% S/yroc/% France Homicile% !olyeBpert% 1adremploi% 1mon?ob% @eilleurmobile.comK !) In!rastructure and "osting Mantar% !ierre udoin 1onsultants% "eBel% @otor !resse% .S8.% Sport,2% S80" G% 1analAE% #nstitut @utualiste @ontsouris% 80S% #onis% .smoC% S#H8$% tel 5otels% 1adremploi% #nstitut FranSais du !trole% @utualit FranSaiseK
Page 4
[1.,] 0his White !aper

8Acommerce has literally eBploded o&er the last few years: with a turno&er of ,( billion 8uros in ,((7 *,)T more than ,((6- the number of online shoppers is in constant progression *o&er 4)T of web users ha&e already made an online purchasewith an e&erAgreater number of traders% both new and established% opening their own online shop.
E-commerce turnover in billons of Euros
in 2008
Source: iOE Study E-commerce report 2008/Fevad/K !"
recent Forrester1 study showed impressi&e pro?ections% with growth of 47 billion in online 8uropean retails sales in ,((9 and up to 112 billion by ,(12% representing an increase in a&erage yearly eBpenditure per household of from 27' to 4(1 for this same period. #t is difficult% then% to ignore this new digital re&olution and the associated .pen Source solutions which play an e&erAmore important role. 0his White !aper proposes an o&er&iew of .pen Source 8A1ommerce solutions. We will present a selection of the best tools% and then re&iew the main functions% indicating how each tool performs. #n order to select the right tools on which to build an 8A1ommerce platform% it is important to understand the fundamental concepts of a trading site% we endea&our to eBplain these concepts in the first part of this White !aper. 8Acommerce touches upon a wide &ariety of issues% such as 1ustomer "elations% Dusiness @anagement% $ogistics% WebAmar/eting% etc. We will not go into each of these issues here% as they are far too &ast and specific.
!ttp:**+++.forrester.com*r)*,esearc!*+ester&-e'ropea&-o&li&e-retail-forecast.2C-200/-to*0*id*1143*t*2
Page 1
[1.'] 0he benefits of an .pen Source Solution

.pen Source solutions are gaining new ground at an incredible rate year after year in all areas of application. <ew /ey players are emerging and there is now a pro&en logic to the .pen Source business model. Solutions are e&erAmore mature and are now seen as &ery real alternati&es to proprietary solutions. Defore focusing on functionality% letFs ta/e a loo/ at the benefits that these .pen Source solutions pro&ide. 0he financial benefits are the most ob&ious reason for choosing an .pen Source solution. While implementing an .pen Source solution is ne&er free of all costs% it is a great deal cheaper than implementing a proprietary solution. n .pen Source solution can pro&e up to )A1( times cheaper to integrate. Ser&ices also generally cost less% as the &ery :open= nature of the product lends itself to /nowledge sharing. s solutions reach maturity% howe&er% the cost factor is no longer the most important issue to consider. 0he main arguments for .pen Source solutions are:
2
0he nonAdependence or limited dependence% on the editor. We /now that changing tools can be &ery eBpensi&e% and editors can be tempted to profit from the Ugolden gooseF of clients who ha&e become capti&es. 0his scenario is often referred to as &endor loc/Ain. Hurability is another strong criterion. .pen Source solutions may not >uite ha&e a guarantee of :eternal youth=% but the a&ailability of their source code to a community of clients and partners guarantees widespread distribution of the /nowAhow associated with the implementation of these solutions% and as such their de&elopment. 0he :.pen= aspect is also a big issue. .pen Source solutions are generally more compliant with standards% and more open to the possibility of adding modules.
s regards durability% the worst that can happen with an .pen Source solution is that the community can gradually lose interest in the solution% generally in preference of a more promising solution. s such the product may one day need to be replaced% but at least the windingAdown process is slow allowing the client ample time to migrate to another solution. #t is important to also point out that e&en if the editor one day winds down% the community remains and can continue wor/ing on the product and its e&olution% this is the &ery principle of .pen Source solutions.
Page 3

s for the :.pen= aspect% while in theory it is essential that the modifications can be made to the source3 in practise this can be ris/y. s such it is not in these terms that the :.pen= aspect is of benefit% but in its capacity to accept eBtensions% and to interface with other applications. n editor with commercial ob?ecti&es doesnFt always ha&e purely the clientsF best interest at heart. 0he editor operates in a competiti&e mar/et so it goes without saying that they want their tool to be better than their competitorFs% but once wellA established% the editor may come to the conclusion that:
2 2 2
0heir product must be efficient% but not o&erlyAso% as more ser&ers mean more licenses. 0he product must be solid% but not too much so% as support ser&ices must be sold as well. 0he product must be open% but not too much so% so as to maintain control of the client.
We are not saying that editors are calculating to the point where they would lessen the >uality of their product3 we are merely saying that the strategic priority is not necessary gi&en to these issues.
Page 4
Content
[1] PREAMBLE..........................................................................2
51.16#M789............................................................................................... 2 51.26T:7# ;:7T9 P(P9,...............................................................................4 51.36T:9
<9=9>7T# %> (=
%P9= #%?,C9 #%8?T7%= ..............................................1
[2] FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS .................................................8

52.16;:(T 52.36T:9
(,9 9$C%MM9,C9 T%%8# ?#9@ >%,A
..................................................B #D#T9M#. ...................................11
52.26@7,9CTC 7=>%,MC T,(=#>%,MC (=(8D#9 ...................................................../

T,(@7=E #7T9 ;7T:7= T:9 7=>%,M(T7%=
[3] THE SELECTION OF TOOLS...............................................18

53.16P,9(M<89........................................................................................1B 53.26%#C%MM9,C9...................................................................................1B 53.36M(E9=T%........................................................................................20 53.46P,9#T(#:%P.....................................................................................21 53.16%><7F............................................................................................ 22 53.36?<9,C(,T........................................................................................23 53.46%T:9,#..........................................................................................24
[4] FUNCTIONALITY................................................................2
54.16C(T(8%E?9......................................................................................23 54.26#(89# 54.36<(CG
T?==98
..................................................................................44
%>>7C9....................................................................................1/ 7=T9,>(C9#..........................................................................41
54.469HT9,=(8
[!] SUMMARY........................................................................."!
Page B
[#] $%&DAME&'AL C(&CEP') [,.1] What are eAcommerce tools used forV
[,.1.1] What is sold on a trading siteV
.ne can find almost anything on the #nternet% but not e&erything is sold in the same way. First% we must distinguish between:
2 2 2
!hysical products% which must be stored% handled% deli&ered Ser&ices% which are purchased online to be used at some point: hotel room% theatre tic/ets% etc. Higital products and ser&ices% which can be deli&ered by the web: the posting of a ?ob offer% subscriptions to 0he 0imes online% i0unes music purchases% etc.
8ach of these products has its own complications and limitations which all mar/et tools are not necessarily capable of ta/ing into consideration: e.g. the notion of a reser&ation calendar for tourist ser&ices% stoc/ management for physical products% content security for digital products% etc.
[,.1.,] Sell but not ?ust that

n eAcommerce solution is not a mere online sales solution. Se&eral trading sites use tools which do not manage the act of the online purchase. 1ertain products and ser&ices can be too compleB% too specific or too eBpensi&e to be purchased directly% by any method of electronic payment. 8&en without online sales% traders sometimes ?ust want to display a structured catalogue with prices that can be &aried from one customer to another or from one option to another. Saint @aclou,% for eBample% presents its full catalogue on its site% but does not offer online purchasing3 instead it includes a :re>uest an estimate= option allowing the sales cycle to ta/e place in a different manner.
!ttp:**+++.sai&t$maclo'.com*
Page /
[,.,] Hirect% #nform% 0ransform%
nalyse
s we ha&e already mentioned eAcommerce is an area that is full bloom. 8ach day% new trading sites open on the net. #n ,((9% they numbered almost )(%((( in France alone. ny company that wishes to launch online acti&ity is rapidly confronted with the recurring issues of the eAcommerce world:
2 2 2 2
Directing* 5ow to draw potential customers to their siteV 5ow to direct them in the different productWser&ice sectionsV In!orming* 5ow to present their products fa&ourablyV 5ow to highlight their leading productsV 'rans!orming* 5ow to encourage the customer to place a product in their bas/et and to proceed with the purchaseV 5ow to impro&e salesV Anal+sing: 5ow to monitor the commercial performance of their shop in order to impro&e itV
While the responses to these >uestions may not be directly gi&en by a software solution% we will see that they must be ta/en into consideration when choosing a solution.
[,.,.1] Hirecting
0here are two main aBes in the process of directing potential customers% ttract and Guide:
Attract
Marketing Marketing strategies strategies Optimisation Optimisation of of natural natural inde#in$ inde#in$ %eferencin$ %eferencin$
Guide
Clear Clear naming naming "ood "ood er$onomic er$onomic practises practises &t'e &t'e capability of $oin$ (ac)* capability of $oin$ (ac)* breadcrumb breadcrumb trail* trail* etc+, etc+, A A powerful powerful search search engine engine -ccess -ccess to to products products accordin$ accordin$ to to different a#es/criteria &price* different a#es/criteria &price* product product type* type* collection* collection* etc, etc,
Page 10
a) Attracting 0raffic is mainly generated &ia mar,eting strategies *brand recognition% the competitor conteBt% communication campaigns% a buCC around a product% etc.-3 ne&ertheless% tools ha&e a direct effect on traffic: natural indeBing% affiliation ser&ices% etc. Manual indexing .ptimising natural indeBing has become a matter of paramount importance for eA commerce sites. 1ertain aspects relate to the general design of the site and its na&igation% others relate to the matriB or framewor/ and formatting% but not all eA commerce solutions are e>ual in this respect. Some /ey points:
2
8nsure that all product pages% including compleB ones% can be accessed by search engines. For eBample% if a product eBists in se&eral colours% a Google search using the product name associated with any of these colours must return a lin/ to the site. 1hoose titles and /eywords which ma/e sense to the webAuser. #t can often be &ery tempting to use technical terms in a catalogue leBicon% but these are not the terms that the webAuser thin/s in. For eBample% we sometimes find the term layette for baby clothes% a term which is not widely used by webAusers. 8nter metadata for each product sheet *some tools will do this automatically!ro&ide a logical site map. @ost search engines do not analyse site maps with o&er )(( lin/s. So watch out if you ha&e a complicated treeAstructure. @a/e sure that your E"$Fs can be understood by the webAuser *for eBample a&oid ha&ing a product sheet with an address li/e www.mysite.comWform.phpV idX',ObrandXsamsung use www.mysite.comWsamsungWtele&isionAlcdA l',b2)(.html instead-.
2 2 2
!lease see our White !aper on indeBing for further information on best practices. Affiliation ffiliation is common practice among eAtraders3 the ob?ecti&e of affiliation is to ma/e ones site and products /nown by paying other sites to display your ad&ert. !ayment options &ary: payAperAclic/ i.e. per &isit3 or per purchase i.e. by turno&er generated3 or by action i.e. based on receipt of completed feedbac/ forms. 0his is the basis of the d Sense affiliation program: Google ma/e the ser&ice a&ailable for both parties: the trader and the affiliate% and ta/e a little commission along the way. .n top of this ser&ice% Google also ser&es as affiliate by displaying
Page 11

content on its own pages% notably on its search engine pages. <e&ertheless% the dissemination of display notices throughout the display networ/ is not entirely controlled by the trader. We note that there eBists an .pen Source alternati&e% .pen R% which is an affiliation platform on which you can build your own networ/ of affiliates and manage your ad&erts. Loyalty #f the loyalty of your customers goes beyond 1"@% you will see that some eA commerce tools offer a certain number of features which promote customer loyalty:
2 2 2 2 2 2
@anagement of :refer a friend= programs @anagement of pri&ate sales @anagement of newsletters @anagement beha&iourof customised promotional offers *based on purchasing
$oyalty points based on purchase amounts and &olumes 8tc. Refer a friend
0he :refer a friend= concept is the simple application of an ageAold principal i.e. that of :recommendation=% &ia the channel of the web. Dasically customers are in&ited to recommend the site to a friend% so that they may signAup and place an order. #n order to encourage this practice% both the initial customer and their friend recei&es a reward% often in the form of points or a gift certificate. 1ertain :pri&ate sale= sites push the concept e&en further by limiting access to the site to this basis% wherein a web user can only access the site if they ha&e been referred by a friend who is already a member. 0his strategy reinforces the notion eBclusi&ity% and as such increases the li/elihood of purchase.
b) -uiding 0he way in which a webAuser is guided is% on the other hand% an affair of best functional practices and ergonomics. 5ere are some pointers:
2
Wor/ on a clear and eBplicit nomenclature. Find the right ratio between the number of treeAstructure le&els and the number of products per category. 0he number of clic/s a webAuser has to ma/e to arri&e at a gi&en product must be reduced to the bare minimum Y a treeAstructure which is too complicated will often seriously increase the number of abandoned purchases.
Page 12

2
"espect all best practices as regards :traditional= ergonomics: include a breadcrumb trail retracing the path the user has na&igated so that they can return to the pre&ious le&el at any stage3 ensure that the na&igator :bac/= button wor/s with your site *some Flash sites% for eBample% are not compatible with this button-. #mplement a powerful search engine which gi&es pertinent results. We will ta/e a deeper loo/ at this tool% which is central to any trading site% later in this document. @ultiply the paths which offer access to a product. ll webAusers do not thin/ ali/e and so will not follow the same path. We will see that modern eA commerce tools offer se&eral paths to the same product: multiAcategorisation is the capability of associating a product to se&eral categories and treeAstructure le&els. Facet na&igation allows successi&e filtering of the catalogue based on se&eral criteria such as price% brand% colour% etc. 0hese are two common practices.
[,.,.,] #nforming
!resenting products well is also something dealt with by the companyFs webA mar/eting and conception strategy% we often tal/ of eAmerchandising:
2 2
!romoting the product with good images% a selection of &iews% a Coom capability% or e&en a short &ideo presentation Hetailed information on the product *technical details-% on the associated ser&ices *guarantees% maintenance% etc.-% and more generally on anything that differentiates you from your competitor @anagement of crossed sales and sales incenti&es :#ntelligent= management of descriptions. s such% in the case where a gi&en product eBists in se&eral colours or siCes% we a&oid creating a product sheet by description.
2 2
Page 13
[,.,.'] 0ransforming
0ransformation is% of course% the crucial act% managed by what is referred to as the :sales tunnel=% that is to say% the steps from the finalising the order to confirmation of payment. We refer to this as a :tunnel= because it is a process during which the client must not be distracted from the act of purchasing. 5ere again% there are a certain number of best practices which encourage the customer to enter the sales tunnel. 5ere are a few:
2
dd to bas/et. 0he : dd to bas/et= button must be clearly &isible and accessible without ha&ing to scroll the page. Studies ha&e shown that large buttons promote the act of purchasing. Das/et &isibility. 0he bas/et and its content must remain &isible on all pages3 the webAuser must be able to access a summary of their bas/et content at any time. ZDistance to promotionZ information. #f deli&ery is free on sales o&er a certain amount% it is a good idea to specify the amount the customer has left separating them from free deli&ery. Some sites e&en offer a selection of products in this price range which can be added to the bas/et in one clic/. 0he order process. 0his must be as short and clear as possible: forms should only include information this is absolutely necessary *this is not the place to
Page 14

as/ customers about their purchasing habits-% all teBt should be there to help the customer understand the process. Ser&ices ' are also a&ailable which only as/ for the userFs telephone number and then use a directory to autofill fields. We can also promote :eBpress= purchases on single articles.
2
#dentifiable purchase steps. ll of the steps must be clearly identified and allow the webAuser to return to the pre&ious steps at any time *to change their contact details or payment method% for eBample-. 0he tunnel effect. 0his is not the time to propose other articles which may distract the customer. customer is ?ust about to finalise the purchase% but is then tempted by another product% he clic/s% &iews the product% then as/s himself if it would be cheaper elsewhere% he opens a new window to compare andK may ne&er come bac/[
5ere are the standard purchasing steps on a trading website:
[,.,.2]
nalysing
n online shop is constantly sub?ected to numerous ad?ustments resulting from impro&ed /nowledge of their customersF practices. 0here are a number of techni>ues for obtaining /ey information and impro&ing performance% these include:
2
Business Intelligence: which allows to build dynamic relations% to ta/e a step bac/ from statistics or on the contrary to ta/e a deeper loo/ at statistics in order to understand the detail *referred to as drillAdown-. 0he data used
+++.reIersoform.com
Page 11

relates to traffic% sales% customers% and catalogues. We will return to statistical analysis on page )9 2.'.4 Statistics W reporting.
2
%ser tests: the figures gi&en are essential but it is also absolutely crucial to test the site using real users. 0his allows to measure the ease with which these users carry out simple tas/s% to analyse errors% to measure the ease with which the user remembers the site after a period of nonAuse and finally% to get an idea of their :feeling= for the site. 0hese aBes of analysis lead to the enhancement of the layout% design or features of the site. A.B testing: while user tests are carried out using a sample group of people% WD tests impact on all shop users. 0his in&ol&es proposing two &ersions of the same page or the same element Ybutton% banner% image% etc.-% in order to find out which pro&ides the best results *a clic/% a form completed% an order placed-.
[,.'] 0he trading site within the #nformation Systems.

[,.'.1] 0he peripheral areas of an eAcommerce solution
<o eAcommerce solution is capable of co&ering all of the eAtraderFs logistical% accounting% and mar/eting needs. s such% an eAcommerce solution is not:
2
logistics management tool: a solution is rarely capable of efficiently steering all of the logistical processes usually deployed by the 8"!. s such we conclude that the management of suppliers% associated stoc/% reApro&isioning% warehouses% and production scheduling% does not fall within the sphere of the eAcommerce solution. CRM: While the 8A1ommerce tool may ser&e as a receptacle for a >uantity of information which allows to >ualify and /now your customers *contact details% areas of interest% fre>uency and &olume of purchase% etc.-% it will only supply rough tools% which are insufficient to implement a real client relationship strategy. !ureAplayers aside% traders ha&e other channels of sales apart from the web3 it is usual practice to consolidate customer information in a global 1"@ database. #t is recommended that those who wish to use email campaigns *newsletters% targeted promotions% etc.- delegate these operations to :eAmail mar/eting= tools. number of specialised ser&ice pro&iders are present in the mar/et offering infrastructure which has been specially designed to dispatch se&eral tens of thousands of mails in a ?ust few hours% guaranteeing a deli&erability rate% i.e. the assurance that your mails will not be identified as S! @ by the different #S!s and will arri&e at their destination. 0ools that are specifically
Page 13

focused on eAmailing must also manage target segmentation% the identification of erroneous email addresses% the monitoring of beha&iour% etc. 0hese features are ne&er dealt with in such an inAdepth manner by an eAcommerce solution.
2
An accounting management tool : While the eAcommerce administration interface may allow small business eAtraders to follow sales% this does not ma/e it an accounting management tool with the capability of creating standardiCed accounts and details on legislation compliance. A CM): 1urrent .pen Source tools do not pro&ide content management features anything li/e those offered by specialised tools *1@S-. Specialised content management tools manage news% management of content &alidation processes prior to publication% &ersion monitoring% permissions etc.
We feel that it is pointless to ta/e the aforeAmentioned features into account when choosing an eAcommerce solution and as such they will not figure in our study. 0here is no all round solution% though a few do attempt to co&er the areas mentioned abo&e% they only do so &ery roughly. 0o conclude we feel that one is better off selecting a solution which eBcels in its domain and using specialiCed tools to co&er the rest of the eAbusiness chain.
[,.'.,] #nteraction with the #nformation System

8Acommerce solutions are rarely stand alone and are usually integrated into the #nformation System *#.S.-. 0he catalogue often comes from an eBternal source such as an 8"! and we often transfer client information to a 1"@ system and sales information to an accounting management tool.
Page 14
0he main criterion to be ta/en into account when choosing a solution should not be its operational capacity in areas which are only partially related but its ca/acit+ to inter!ace 0it1 e2ternal multi !unction s+stems3
We will see how each solution performs here% later in this document.
Page 1B
[4] '"E )ELEC'I(& ($ '((L) ['.1] !reamble

We will not attempt to put forward an eBhausti&e in&entory of eAcommerce solutions. <ew solutions appear >uite regularly on the mar/et% with the promise of new features and e&erAgreater fleBibility. #n reality% most of these pro?ects are nonA starters for a number of reasons: no community de&elops around them% the choice of technologies is poor% there is functional wea/ness% etc. s such% we ha&e created a shortAlist of tools which we feel best represent the current .pen Source mar/et. We ha&e based our selection on three main criteria:
2 2 2
0he functional depth of the tool *is it a stateAofAthe art tool% does it pro&ide web ,.( functionality% what is its capacity to interface with other solutions% etc.0he tools architecture and its technical >ualities: the technical en&ironment% how modular the tool is% the >uality of de&elopment% load handling 0he durability of the tool *the siCe of the community% the number of contributions% editor presence% the networ/ of professionals% etc.-.
@ost of the tools presented are specialised eAcommerce solutions. We ha&e% howe&er% included the eAcommerce eBtension of a well /nown 1ontent @anagement tool: Hrupal.
['.,] .s1ommerce
#t is difficult not to mention .s1ommerce when we are tal/ing about .pen Source solutions. 0his tool% which first appeared in @arch ,(((% has rapidly become the tool of reference in eAcommerce solutions3 its editor was a selfAacclaimed .pen Source ad&ocate at a time when .pen Source was in its formati&e years.
Page 1/
He&eloped entirely in !5!W@ySN$% .s1ommerce owes a large part of its success to the absence of an .pen Source alternati&e and the eBplosion of eAbusiness at the beginning of the new millennium. Detween ,((( and ,((2 a great number of companies% from soleAtraders to large multinationals% created their site based on .s1ommerce. #t remains to this day the most widely deployed webshop in the world. Histributed under G!$% .s1ommerce is a tool based entirely on a once &ery large and acti&e community. #n recent years% this community has bro/en away from the de&elopment team to form &arious :forks=. fork is a part of a community which detaches itself to build a new product based on the source code on the initial product. 0he most well /nown fork of .s1ommerce is Jen1art. He&elopment of the solution has seriously slowed down e&er since ,((4. 0he aging code ma/es the application &ery difficult to maintain% the team attempted a total o&erhaul of the tool for &ersion ' *&'- which has been due to go on the mar/et for a number of years nowK 0he arri&al of new players such as !restashop and @agento has also contributed to the scattering of the .s1ommerce community.
Page 20
['.'] @agento
n .pen Source solution has rarely ta/en off as rapidly and noisily as @agento. 0his tool has generated a phenomenal buCC at international le&el right from the first beta &ersions in ,((6% this allowed to federate an eBtremely acti&e community in record time.
First distributed eBclusi&ely under .S$ *.pen Source $icence-% @agento managed to gain a large share of the mar/et right from its product launch in @arch ,((7% attac/ing leading editor solutions headAon *#ntershop% @icrosoft 1ommerce Ser&er% Websphere 1ommerce% 0G-. Histributed by the merican editor @agento #nc. *formerly ;arien-% an agency pre&iously specialising in .s1ommerce integration% the solution is based on the Jend !5! framewor/ and benefits from a large number of inno&ations in terms of collaborati&e functions. @agentoFs strength lies in its great modularity and its robustness. #t was clearly concei&ed to carry ambitious and large scale trading sites.
Page 21

@agento #nc. announced the launch of its 8nterprise edition in pril ,((9. 0his edition% which incurs an annual fee% includes a support contract% integrates a certain number of additional features and addresses the needs of large companies. @agento #nc. is due to offer a SaaS *Software as a Ser&ice- ser&ice by the end of ,(1(% wherein a trader can rent a @agento site% with modules that incur a fee% and an i!hone application.
['.2] !restashop
"eleased a few months after @agento *+uly ,((7-% !restashop is a French product which rapidly won o&er a large number of users due to the simplicity of its setAup and its eBcellent responses to the needs of the French eAtrader.
!ublished under .S$ in the same manner as @agento% !restashop is entirely de&eloped in !5!W@ySN$. #t has an !# which allows to adapt the tool to new needs.
Page 22

0his French editor solution *the fruit of what was initially a student pro?ect-% has >uic/ly built a solid reputation among French and Spanish communities and sees itself% naturally enough% as the worthy successor of .s1ommerce. !restashop has also launched !restaDoB% a ser&ice in SaaS *Software as a Ser&icemode which offers eAtraders a turn/ey product which includes updates% configuration% module installations% and solution hosting.
['.)] .fDiC
0he prestigious pache Foundation offer pache .FDiC *.pen for Dusiness-% an eBtremely ambitious tool which offers what is% no doubt% the largest spectrum of functionality in this study.
Histributed in ,((1 under pache ,.( license *li/e all of the Foundations other pro?ects-% .FDiC is based on +,88 and se&eral technical components de&eloped by the Foundation.
Page 23

s opposed to other tools in this comparati&e study% .FDiC is not a tool which specialises entirely on eAcommerce. #t also offers a full 8"! with se&eral wellA identified components:
2 2 2 2 2 2
.nline Sales *the 8A1ommerce part of the tool1ustomer "elationship @anagement A 1"@ Supply 1hain @anagement A S1@ Sales @anagement !ointAofAsale @anagement Y !.S 8tc.
0he other distincti&e feature of .FDiC is that it offers a framewor/ approach and not an :offAtheAshelf= readyAtoAuse tool approach. For this reason implementation calls for substantial in&estment% both to master the tool and to successfully create an operational site. 0he *relati&ely confidential- .FDiC community is mainly made up of those on official distribution lists. 0here is no French community% that we /now of% around .FDiC. We also note that% li/e all products from the pache Foundation% .FDiC does not offer editor support. Support is a&ailable from the community *using pache eBchange or monitoring tools- or under contract from an integration ser&ice pro&ider.
['.4] Ebercart
Ebercart is the eAcommerce component of the Hrupal content management tool. #nitially concei&ed as a simple eBtension allowing bas/et management within Hrupal% it has rapidly become a pro?ect in itself% perfectly interfaced with the 1@S. &ailable since +une ,((7 under 1reati&e 1ommons ZShare li/eZ license% the tool has the peculiarity of being an eBtension of a content management tool. Ebercart has the same >ualities and failings as Hrupal:
2 2 2
n eBtremely acti&e% >ualified community% tool which has been well thoughtAout technically spea/ing and is entirely interfaced with the rest of Hrupal% tool which is easy to use% but also greatly dependant on the other Hrupal eBtensions
#nstallation can be a little arduous and its functionality is a little more limited than that of specialised eAcommerce solutions.
Page 24
['.6] .thers
['.6.1] 0helia% !lici
0helia and !lici are two !5! .pen Source solutions which ha&e a small acti&e community and a number of important deployments.
0he functional scope of these solutions is% ne&ertheless% more limited that that of other solutions presented herein. s such these tools are of more interest to &ery small 8A0raders. Furthermore% their community is purely FrenchAspea/ingAFrench which is a worry as regards to the durability of the solutions.
['.6.,] Mona/art
Mona/art was concei&ed in an effort to pro&ide a solution comparable to .s1ommerce but in a +,88 en&ironment. "eleased in ,((6 under 8!$ *8clipse !ublic $icense-% the tool uses .s1ommerce reasoning and adds the eBcellent integration possibilities offered by the +,88 en&ironment. Enfortunately the community is >uite confidential. 0his is no doubt due to the solutionFs haCy economic model *one has to search to find the applicationFs source% which is not entirely .pen Source- and a functionality which is% despite e&erything% still wea/ and not &ery ergonomic. We must mention that Mon/art has a 1ommunity edition% and an 8nterprise edition which integrates a number of additional features such as multiAshop management O $ucene integration. 0he editor offers two types of support contracts% one for each product edition% something which is rare in this sector.
['.6.'] "DS 1hange

0he .pen Source model is &ery attracti&e to software editors. "DS is among those who turned to this model% deli&ering the 1hange 1@S and 8A1ommerce applications under ffero G!$ &' licence% in February ,(1(.
Page 21

0he fruit of almost ) years of de&elopment and o&er 1(( pro?ects% this solution is &ery promising both from a technical and functional point of &iew. 5ere are some of the aspects which differentiate this solution from its competitors:
2 2
n entirely integrated and coupled 1@S and eAcommerce tool% with no functional compromises Dac/ office management using RE$ technology: the ergonomic and graphic rendering of all buttons and bac/ office elements is carried out by FirefoB and integrates perfectly with the operating system *with dragAdrop capabilities% a uniform colour code% etc.-% as opposed to other solutions presented which do not ha&e a 1((T 50@$ bac/ office. !5!) framewor/ de&eloped by the editor and an ad&anced de&elopment en&ironment n enterprise edition offering ad&anced functions *site pre&iew at a gi&en date% automatic management of promotions% etc.-.
2 2
s a result of its sudden turn to .pen Source% the "DS 1hange community is small% and as such the solution does not yet benefit from this /ey ad&antage which guarantees the durability of a solution.
['.6.2] eJ !ublish W 0ypo' W +oomla

We decided to include Ebercart in our selection% because% of all the 1@Ss offering eA commerce modules this is the most accomplished. 5owe&er% most .pen Source 1@Ss on the mar/et offer eAcommerce modules:
2 eJ publish offers the eJ webshop module 2 0ypo' offers the ttAproducts eBtension 2 +oomla[ offers the ;irtue@art module
first glance% the management of a product catalogue and its online presentation falls within the area of content management. good 1@S tool could &ery well be used to present a catalogue% and allow satisfactory na&igation. Webshop eBtensions can be added to allow bas/et and payment management. Dut in actual fact% the capabilities of this system fall &ery far short of those offered by a stateAofAtheAart eA commerce platform. .&erall% these eBtensions are of a similar standard. 0hey may suit the needs of companies which already ha&e their company site on one of these 1@S and wish to ?ust add a little online catalogue% without ha&ing any real 8A0rading ambitions.
Page 23
[5] $%&C'I(&ALI'6 [2.1] 1atalogue

[2.1.1] Graphic and ergonomic customisation
trading site ob&iously creates its identity through its Zloo/ O feelZ. 8&en if most tools on the mar/et offer an elegant appearance by default *some more than others-% it is important to be able to control and modify the ergonomics and graphic layout of your shop pages in order to gi&e your shop its own identity. a) Con!iguration and tem/lates 0here are two main ways to customiCe a site: by configuration and templating. Configuration We tal/ of configuration when something can be customiCed &isually% without ha&ing to do anything with the source code. 0his is generally first le&el customiCation: the shop logo% title% and description% the layout of certain content bloc/s% the selection of product details to be displayed etc. 0his customiCation is carried out directly &ia the administration interface and does not re>uire any technical eBpertise. Templates s with 1@Ss% most recent 8A1ommerce tools ma/e a clear distinction bet0een t1e content and t1e structure3 0his signifies that the content% i.e. mainly the products which ma/e up the catalogue% are managed without ha&ing to worry about the technical entries for these products on source pages. 0he tool is used to format this content &ia a set of templates. 0emplates define page settings% the layout of different elements% and the choice of the graphic charter *fonts% colours% aligning% frames% ...- etc. #f tomorrow you whish to change the appearance of your shop% you ?ust ha&e to modify the templates% without ha&ing to touch the catalogue% which ma/es the process a lot less labourAintensi&e. set of templates is often bro/en into two main entities:
Page 24

2
0emplate files which define the structure of your pages and the composition of different content bloc/s. For eBample% determining a product page *the position of the image% the area reser&ed for crossed sales% etc.-. 0hese templates are generally 50@$ files% in which specific tags are inserted3 these can be basic to compleB depending on the tool. 0hese tags supply indications as to the content that should be inserted in a gi&en position on the 50@$ page. Style sheets *1SS files-. 0hese define the graphic presentation of the &arious different page content bloc/s.
0he creation and modification of a set of templates re>uires certain technical eBpertise% at the &ery least /nowledge of 50@$ and 1SS. n eAcommerce tool allows you to associate a set of templates with your shop. 0he most ad&anced tools allow you to go a little further:
2 2
Dy planning template set changes based on configurable time periods *to modify your graphics for the 1hristmas period% for eBample-. Dy associating se&eral sets of templates with the same bouti>ue in order to offer se&eral different layouts depending on the customer profile or the media used *mobile access for eBample-.
(sCommerce is particularly wea/ in this area: it simply does not offer any real template mechanism. s soon as one attempts to mo&e outside the standard :' column= default layout% modifications must be made on the core !5! files directly. 0here is no need to point out that this type of manipulation can be terribly damaging to the maintainability of the solution. Magento offers a template mechanism which might seem a bit complicated at the beginning% but allows eBcellent fleBibility. #t is based on the Jend Framewor/ @;1 model and brea/s down pages into functional bloc/s *main menu% search bloc/% bestAselling bloc/% etc.- 0hese bloc/s are then assembled using R@$ files. #t is also worth mentioning that @agento offers style change planning and the association of se&eral template sets with a shop. Prestas1o/ 7 ($Bi8 each ha&e a standardised template engine: Smarty for !restashop *used by +oomla among others- and Freemar/er for .FDiC. 0hese allow great formatting fleBibility and are easy enough to wor/ with. %bercart does not offer any particular template language. Screen formatting is defined directly at !5! file le&el. s such good technical /nowledge is re>uired to use the tool% ma/ing changes more difficult.
Page 2B

b) Ric1 Inter!ace A//lication 9RIA) Some sectors% such as the luBury sector% wish to offer customers a uni>ue user eBperience to further enhance the brandFs identity and as such propose a more unusual system of na&igation. Rich nternet Application !R A" can be put into place using technologies such as Flash% FleB or Sil&erlight.
#ongchamp online shop
0his is a real application which is eBecuted on the customers system% within the na&igator% and which communicates with the web site% and so with the eAcommerce tool. 0hese technologies can be relati&ely complicated to implement% depending on the tool% and depending on the siCe of the site "# . #f it in&ol&es only occasional banners or little configurators within eBisting templates% the operation is less compleB than if implementing a frontal entirely in Flash or FleB. s the template mechanism is shortAcircuited% the tool needs an interface * !#which allows the :customer= application to obtain information managed by the tool *catalogue% prices% etc-.
Magento 7 ($Bi8 allow relati&ely easy "# integration and do not re>uire core application inter&ention as their 'Atier architecture allows to separate the presentation from content. #n the case of @agento% we can% for eBample% use the Jend framewor/ to build FleB applications on @F rather than !5!. (sCommerce% Prestas1o/ and %bercart on the other hand% re>uire more compleB modifications in order to allow to connect a rich interface o&er the applicati&e layer. While not impossible this does re>uire a lot of wor/.
Page 2/
[2.1.,] @ultiAshop
@ultiAshop management refers to the eAcommerce platformFs capacity to manage se&eral shops which may or may not share the client repository% catalogue% pricing offers and graphic layout. @ultiAshop management is an ad&anced feature not yet offered by all solutions. 0he compleBity of this management depends entirely on the scope of information shared between shops. Delow we ta/e a loo/ at cases where a multiAshop function is most commonly implemented. a) Case no3 1 : Multi countr+ sites .ne of the most common needs is to be able to manage all of the different country shops from the same platform. @anaging a multiAlanguage trading site does not consist in merely translating the catalogue content. #t also necessitates:
2 2 2 2 2 2
!erfect management of multiAcurrency payments @anaging the taB for each target country 1onnecting to the &arious local logistics solutions *transporters% local warehouses% etc.Deing able to maintain the possibility of selling a limited selection of catalogue products in certain countries. 1ompliance with local regulations #n a more general way% ta/ing local eAcommerce customs into account *for eBample in +apan goods are generally deli&ered within ,2hrs maB.b) Case no3 # : )ite !actories
1lients often wish to be able to generate a new shop on demand% &ia the platform% with its own catalogue% customers and graphic layout. #n this case% there is ob&iously no crossAo&er between the data generated by the different shops% each with their own local administrator who has no /nowledge of or access to the other shops. 0his method is used by companies that wish to offer an online sales ser&ice in hosted mode% in Saas mode% as with !owerDouti>ue2.
+++.po+er)o'ti0'e.com*
Page 30

c) Case no3 4 : Multi target sites nother scenario is when a trader wishes to use &arious sections of the catalogue andWor &aried pricing on :pri&ate= sites. 0his is particularly common in the D,D conteBt where companies often negotiate preferential prices and wish to ma/e a pri&ate shop a&ailable to the other party. 8lements of the catalogue are selected for the new shop% the associated prices are entered and customer accounts are created. d) Case 5 Multi brand sites 0he final scenario is when a company has se&eral brands and wishes to share a certain number of settings between the &arious different shops. 0he catalogues and the graphic layouts of sites are different but the customer repository can be shared in order to allow customers to benefit from the latest special offers applicable to all of the company shops irrespecti&e of the brand. <o matter what the reason for implementing a multiAshop site% the tool must allow sufficient catalogue management granularity to allow to adapt the information displayed and the sales processes implemented% based on the target% country% and uses.
Prestas1o/ O %bercart do not offer multiAshop management. 0hey do% howe&er% offer functional alternati&es for the management of a multiAlanguage shop *this does not allow management of different catalogues for different languages-. (sCommerce has se&eral community eBtensions of &arying >uality% to implement the management of cases 1 O , abo&e. Magento O ($Bi8 both perfectly manage all cases. 5owe&er% Magento only offers the Umanagement of local administratorsF feature with its 8nterprise edition.
[2.1.'] 1ategorisation
catalogue is generally organiCed based on treeAstructure which corresponds to logical classifying of products: e.g. WphotosWdigitalscamerasWunder,megapiBels. Site na&igation reflects this product classification. #n their search% customers would not ha&e all ha&e the same logic% or the same priorities. Some will search for a camera by the number of piBels% others by price% and others by brand% etc. 0herefore it is important to be able to define multiple organisations of product classification. 0hese are referred to as category trees% and a gi&en product can be arranged in se&eral /ernels on different category trees.
Page 31

0his classification can be eBplicit: the administrator defines the category treeA structures and arranges a gi&en product based on the different treeAstructures. 1lassification can also be automatic% based on certain product characteristics. 0ypically the :Ender ,((= category is a dynamic category% in which a product may or may not appear depending on its current price. 0his is referred to as :Facet na&igation= *see pg ',- where in this eBample the facet is the price.
$he e%ample above presents the possible categorisation of products of a shop specialising in pet food&
0he category brea/ down does not necessarily ha&e to correspond to the na&igation menu displayed to the webAuser. Some categories may simply ser&e for internal use *to classify products which are not yet a&ailable for sale% for eBample-. #n general% categorisation is a form of metadata associated with :product= content% which can be used for management or na&igation purposes or merely as search criteria%
All o! t1e tools in this study offer deep unlimited category treeAstructure management with multiple positioning. Magento is the only solution to offer category permissions management *in its 8nterprise edition-% this allows to gi&e or withhold access to a specific category from a group of customers.
Page 32
[2.1.2] 0ypes of products

a) Con!igurable and customisable /roducts 1ertain products can be configured% that is to say that they offer options which the customer can Y and must Y choose from when placing the order. We tal/ of models and articles. For eBample% a tAshirt is a model% the article ordered is a tAshirt of a certain siCe and colour. #n general% we distinguish between a model and an article by as/ing the following >uestions:
2 2
What is the product that # hold in stoc/V 0he answer corresponds to the article. 0his is also referred to as a SME *Stoc/ Meeping Enit-. What is the commercial offer that # ma/e to a customerV 0his is the model.
s such we can label a product :longAslee&ed tAshirt% siCe $% blue= *in this case the modelXthe article-% or :long slee&ed tAshirt=% *siCe and colour to be configured-% or e&en :tAshirt= *slee&e length% siCe and colour to be configured-. #n this case the SME is the first one where slee&e length% siCe and colour are specified.
'ere is an e%ample of a configurable product
0his notion of the distinction between model and article is &ital% as while the model may carry information on the productFs basic features *description% place in categories-% it is the article which carries stoc/ information *for eBample a tAshirt may well be a&ailable in $arge but not @edium-% images and price. #f our tAshirt eBists in ' different colours and ) different siCes% then that gi&es us 1) different catalogue articles or 1) SME% *where each colour is a&ailable in each siCe-.
Page 33

#n some cases% this configuration may ha&e an impact on prices. For eBample% siCe RR$ may incur a , surcharge. #n the case of customisable products *where the user can upload a photo to be transferred on to a tAshirt% for eBample-% the principle &isAQA&is the customer remains the same% e&en though the underlying notion is not identical: as the client will purchase the same article *SME- which will ha&e an impact on stoc/% irrespecti&e of the customisation made.
(sCommerce offers management for this type of product but it is pretty labourA intensi&e. #t does allow nonetheless% to define as many configurable attributes as we wish and we can also specify whether the choice of this attribute incurs a surcharge. <ati&ely% the tool does not ma/e a real distinction between model and article. #t manages the le&el of stoc/ by model. 8Btensions do howe&er allow to enhance this functionality. Magento offers eBcellent management of configurable and customisable products. Huring the definition of product attributes% we specify whether or not each is configurable. When a product is configurable% @agento automatically generates as many articles *SMEs- as &ariations. @inor problem% @agento does not nati&ely associate each of these &ariations with a separate image. Prestas1o/ O ($Bi8 closely manage configurable products. 8ach article has its own SME% le&el of stoc/% price and weight. #t is also worth noting that it is possible to associate a different image with each &ariation. %bercart offers a more concise management of configurable products. 0he new SME must be manually specified for each &ariation as must be the le&el of associated stoc/. 0here is no management of images associated with each &ariation.
b) Product /ac,s We tal/ of :bundles( or )product packs( hen we describe a number of articles grouped under one price. 0here are two types of bundles:
2
FiBed bundles: bundle containing se&eral different articles for a gi&en price% the >uantities and prices are fiBed by the administrator. Hynamic bundles: 0he webAuser can specify the desired >uantity of each article to ma/e up the bundle. For eBample% in the case of li&ingAroom furniture% the webAuser can indicate the number of armchairs% foot rests and sofas that they re>uire. 0he price is then calculated dynamically based on the composition of the bundle.
0he option is a&ailable to decide whether or not the articles which ma/e up a bundle can be sold separately.
Page 34

(sCommerce does not nati&ely offer bundle management. n eBtension does allow this function% nonetheless. "emember that .s1ommerce eBtensions sometimes ha&e the annoying habit of being incompatible with each other. 0o be handled with careK Magento offers the :dynamic= &ersion of this function under the title of :grouped products= and the :fiBed= &ersion under the title of :bundles=. .nly articles as opposed to models can be included in a pac/% in other words configurable products cannot be incorporated into a bundle. Prestas1o/ offers the :fiBed= &ersion under the title of :pac/s=% with the same restriction as @agento as regards configurable products. %bercart deser&es a special mention here% as it offers both pac/ &ariations and supports configurable products within its pac/s. ($Bi8 offers full management of both fiBed and dynamic pac/s.
0he offer presented to the customer is sometimes complicated and made up of a number of different articles which ha&e to be selected in order to ma/e up the final product. 0his is the case for eBample for the purchase of a computer: it is made up of a mother board% screen% memory% processor% etc. which the client can select from among se&eral models. 0he point is to present all of the different possible product associations% on one screen. 1ontrols can be set up to assist the customer% for eBample in &erifying the compatibility of the elements that they ha&e selected.
(sCommerce% %bercart O Prestas1o/ do not offer this feature. Magento O ($Bi8 offer this feature% without offering the compatibility control.
Page 31

c) Immaterial /roducts @ore and more immaterial products are a&ailable online e&ery day. #n ,((9% 26T of webAusers) had purchased one or more of the following types of products:
2
Downloadable media files *films% music% boo/s% re&iews% photographs-.
0his raises the issue of distribution control% copyrights and protection laws. 0he use of techni>ues /nown as :H"@= *Higital "ights @anagement- puts a system of digital watermar/ing% functional loc/ing *no search function in !HF-% and restriction of the software used to open the file.
2
Servi es *ban/ account% insurance% etc.-
0he conditions regarding ser&ices sold are often compleB and re>uire a lot of information from the customer: for eBample% when signing up car insurance one must enter their name% age% address% car brand% model% year of manufacture etc. !ayment is rarely oneAoff but more often demands a recurrence of operations% and as such greater management. 0he purchase is therefore closer to the signing of a contract than a simple action of payment.
2
Reservables *cinema tic/ets% train tic/ets% concert tic/ets% flights% etc.-.
0he main issue with these products concerns :stoc/=. With reser&ables% it is often numbered places which are sold% each with its own characteristics: for eBample% train tic/ets can be considered as 27) separate products% each corresponding to a different seat on the train. <onetheless% the common feature of these products is that they do not generally trigger logistic flows.
&one of the products studied offers simple management of reser&able products. %berCart% (sCommerce OPrestas1o/ only deal with downloadable products. ($Bi8 O Magento allow to model simple &irtual products *ser&ices- and downloadable products. @agento also deals with the issue of limited and secure downloading of digital resources.
1 #o'rce : <aromJtre >eIad " MKdiamKtrie*=et,ati&gs mai 200/
Page 33
[2.1.)] !roduct attributes and classification

a) Attributes product is described by features% that are also referred to as attributes. 0here are different types of attributes: teBt% images% numbers% etc. We put aside price information% an attribute which is dealt with separately later in this White !aper. 0he attributes which describe a product can be: a simple teBt field% enriched teBt *i.e. teBt which includes formatting: bold% italics% font siCe% etc.-% an image% an attachment *e.g. !HF-% a numeric &alue% date% etc. #t is often a good idea to allow the attribute &alue to be selected in a list% as this facilitates the use of data% searches% and internationalisation. For eBample: :handsA free function: yesWno=% or :dualAbandWtriAbandW>uadAband fre>uency=. For eBample% the following fields could be used to describe a tele&ision:
F#e$% t#t$e Prod'ct &ame <ra&d Prod'ct descriptio& #cree& siNe Co&trast :@M7 e&tries >re0'e&c :@ compati)ilit
F#e$% t&'e TeLt (100 c!aracters) @rop$do+& me&' ,ic! teLt ='m)er (i& cm) TeLt (100 c!aracters) ='m)er @rop$do+& list @rop$do+& list #o&
()$*e #o& G@8$32#1100 8orem ips'mM B1 cm @ &amic 21000:1 3 100 :N >'ll :@
#t can be tempting to put away with these attributes and ?ust compile all of the productFs features in one large teBt field which will then be integrated into the product sheet. While this is sometimes una&oidable% for eBample because the data emanates from an 8"! that doesnFt offer this /ind of data structuring% this should be a&oided as much as possible. Firstly% each attribute is a potential search criterion a customer might use. 8.g. search by brand% processing power% memory capacity% etc. Dy aggregation all of these criteria in one single teBt field% it is no longer possible to target these searches. Secondly% in the case of technical products% these criteria can be used in comparati&e charts. !roduct comparati&e charts remain an ad&anced feature but one that the customer eBpects to see. 0hey allow the webAuser to select se&eral catalogue products
Page 34

and create a matriB comparing product features. 0o go bac/ to our tele&ision eBample% this allows the customer to compare product features on one single page Y rather than ha&ing to go o&er and o&er between different product pages. Finally% correctly structured attributes can be presented on site screens in a uniform manner *same place% same format-% ma/ing it easier for the webAuser% browsing similar products% to read and absorb information. 0his separation of content and structure is another element which is essential for catalogue internationalisation.
(sCommerce offers relati&ely simple attribute management. new attribute is defined in the bac/ office to which we associate a list of possible &alues. 0he tool does not offer standard types of attributes *number type% date type% free teBt type attributes etc.-. We note nonetheless that a number of eBtensions allow to enrich the attribute manipulation mechanism. 0he :Option $ype= eBtension is definitely the most stable and most ad&anced. Prestas1o/% ($Bi8 O %bercart offer more precise management of product features. While they may not pro&ide standard types of attributes% they do allow to choose between attributes to be entered in freely *teBt fields- and list type attributes *a list of &alues predefined in the administration interface Y for eBample the type of 5H compatibility of a screen: noneW5H"eadyWFull5H-. Magento offers eBtensi&e% stateAofAtheAart attribute management. ll attributes are categoriCed *teBt field% rich teBt field% dropAdown menu% date% image etc.-. For each attribute% one can define &ia the administration interface% whether data entry is obligatory or not% whether it should be ta/en into consideration be the search engine% whether if can be used as sort criteria% or whether it should appear in a product comparison result.
b) Product !amilies 1ertain attributes may or may not be rele&ant% depending on the nature of the product. While the type of grape used is of interest when purchasing wine% it is ob&iously not an attribute one would use when describing an @!' player. When we manage a range of products% it is important to be able to define product families which can be lin/ed to the lists of attributes shared by these products. So when we create a :bottle of wine= type product for eBample% the attributes to be entered are defined in relation to the product family i.e. :bottle of wine=: &ineyard% year% grape type% alcohol strength% etc.
(sCommerce O Prestas1o/ do not manage attribute families. s such% there is no way to associate a combination of attributes with a family of products. 0he input mas/ is the same for all products.
Page 3B

Magento% %bercart O ($Bi8 do offer this categorisation. Magento uses the notion of :attribute groups=. 0he first step when creating a product is to select an :attribute group= which will then impact on the input mas/.
c) $acet na;igation ttributes can also be sub?ect to possible automatic categorisation: instead of allocating a product to a category treeAstructure% we can decide to allocate a product to a category automatically% on the basis of a gi&en attribute. 0his is called facet na&igation. For eBample% in the tele&ision section of my shop% # will allow customers to filter products so that only Sony tele&isions with a fre>uency of o&er 1((5C are displayed. 0hese filters can ob&iously be combined.
'ere is an e%ample of facet navigation in the television section of a sample shop
Page 3/

Magento is the only solution that offers real facet na&igation. When defining new attributes% we specify if these can be used as facets of na&igation. 0his filtering is done in an intelligent way: the tool will not allow to filter the catalogue using an attribute if there is no article which corresponds to this filter combination *for eBample if there is no article that costs between )( and 1(( then this price range will not appear as a possible search filter-.
[2.1.4] Search
0he search engine is a pi&otal element of a commercial site. large number of webA users will directly use this search engine to find the product they are loo/ing for% rather than na&igating the catalogue treeAstructure. s such% the search tool must be /ertinent< user !riendl+ and reliable. neologism has e&en appeared to define the art of ma/ing search and na&igation a force to be rec/oned with: searchandi*ing !i&e& a combination of search and merchandi*ing". 0his is basically the e>ui&alent of upselling or crossAselling. a) $ull te2t or structured searc1= 0here are two possible types of searches: A structured searc1* user must be able to search for a product directly using the product reference or by searching one of its attributes. Say for eBample% # am loo/ing for $he 'itchhikers +uide to the +ala%y by Houglas dams *a science fiction boo/ published by !an @acmillan-. # will complete a search form selecting :science fiction= in the dropAdown menu :genre=% :!an @acmillan= in the dropAdown menu :publisher=% and :paperbac/= in the dropAdown menu :&ersion=. A !ull te2t searc1* 0he search must also be able to be carried out on all fields together with the associated content. #f you attach technical notices in !HF format to your product sheets% you may wish for this content to be searchable. We feel that in todayFs world one should no longer ha&e to choose between a fullAteBt and structured search: commercial sites s1ould o!!er bot1>
(sCommerce nati&ely offer a relati&ely basic fullAteBt search feature. #t is illAadapted to large catalogues *with no indeBing and search carried out directly on the database-. #ts structured search only deals with default fields and not the attributes added manually. Magento% %bercart O Prestas1o/ good fullAteBt and structured search features. We do note% howe&er% that these searches do not deal with the content of attached product documents *!HF% Word etc.-. ($Bi8 O Magento Enter/rise directly integrate the search and indeBing engine% $ucene. $ucene is an eBtremely reliable solution% which is stateAofAtheAart in terms of fullAteBt and structured searches% gi&ing eBcellent results in both.
Page 40
b) '1e rele;ance o! results .ptimising the rele&ance of the results gi&en by your search engine is an ongoingA?ob which will e&ol&e as your site does. 5ere we present a number of techni>ues and hints which help impro&e the rele&ance of results. !lease note that only eBternal search engines integrate all of these functions: Synta ti analysis! 0he engine eliminates irrele&ant words% often indefinite articles or prepositions such as and, the, a, some, to etc.#t can also find a word no matter what its declension *plural% con?ugated% etc- or manage spelling corrections *li/e GoogleFs Z Did you meanZ feature-.0hese mechanisms can be &ery simple *deletion of irrele&ant words- or &ery compleB *automatic correction based on algorithms cutting search terms into lemmas-. Statisti al weig"ting! Statistical weighting is the capacity of associating a score with each search result in order to define the order that results are displayed in. 0his score is the weighted sum of a number of search criteria: does the search term appear in the product titleV #s the corresponding product newV #s the corresponding product on my bestAsellers listV% etc. 0his group of criteria is not fiBed and is uni>ue to the profession of each 8A 0rader *for eBample a boo/shop will emphasise the rele&ance of the search term which corresponds to the name of an uthor-. Semanti analysis! Semantic search is currently the most difficult to implement. We tal/ of semantic search when the operation is carried out from an analysis of the sense of the >uery% that is to say by searching words which ha&e the same or a close meaning. Generally% this in&ol&es use of a semantic dictionary. @anaging synonyms that are uni>ue to the gi&en business profession is relati&ely simple% but managing semantics in general re>uires use of a special tool. For eBample if we search the term :layette=% we can eBtend the search to :baby clothes=.
We must say that no solution nati;el+ o!!er semantics searc1. 0o find this type of functionality% it is necessary to compliment an eAcommerce tool with a proprietary solution *we gi&e some eBamples later-.
Page 41

(sCommerce% Magento% Prestas1o/ O %bercart offer minimalist syntactic search *deletion of irrele&ant words-. <either search statistics nor spelling corrections *nati&ely in any case-. 0o obtain conclusi&e results% one must use an eBternal solution% as Smile did for the www.furet.com website using the Sol"W$ucene engine to indeB o&er 1.2 million products. ($Bi8% offers eBtremely efficient statistic searches than/s $ucene integration% and also includes a :Hid you mean= eBtension to manage spelling corrections.
c) Ergonomics #n terms of ergonomics% searches ha&e been greatly modernised with the arri&al of new technologies such as ?aB. We are thin/ing of the autoAcompletion mechanism in particular% which suggests common search terms to the webAuser as they are entering a word or phrase.
An e%ample of auto-completion on the Ama*on&fr site
.ther practises also eBist such as:

2 2 2
0he possibility of filtering results using a number of criteria *# want to remo&e all boo/s which are not a&ailable in paperbac/ format from my list-. @odifying the order in which results are shown *sort by author% price% etc.-. 0he Z-uick viewZ notion which allows the customer to temporarily &iew product details on the same page% rather than ha&ing to clic/ and go to another page.
(sCommerce are happy once again to pro&ide the minimum: one can sort results based on fiBed criteria: price and product name. 8Btensions enhance this functionality a little. Prestas1o/ O %bercart offer autoAcompletion and sort by criteria% these criteria may ha&e one or more attributes. Magento nati&ely manages autoAcompletion% sort by criteria% and the dynamic filtering of results. :>uic/ &iew= eBtension is also a&ailable. ($Bi8 manages autoAcompletion but this necessitates a great deal of configuration and de&elopment wor/ to allow the implementation of filters and rele&ant sorting.
Page 42
d) Per!ormances !erformance is ob&iously /ey% growing in importance with the siCe of the catalogue. #t is often more difficult to ensure good response times for a catalogue which consists of se&eral hundreds of thousands of references *where a customer begins to find the search long if loading ta/es anything o&er , seconds-.
(sCommerce rapidly reaches its limits in regards to catalogues with thousands of references% by &irtue of its search directly in the database. %bercart% Prestas1o/ and Magento all gi&e eBcellent results% *!restashop in particular-% with efficient indeB management. We can well imagine these tools managing catalogues consisting of tens of thousands of references% without any problem. ($Bi8 is without doubt the best e>uipped to meet large solicitations% as $ucene% when wellAconfigured% can deli&er responses% on catalogues consisting of o&er a million references% in under a second% without any problem.
e) Integrating an e2ternal engine #f your catalogue is >uite large or if you ha&e strong needs in terms of syntactical and semantic searches% the possibilities offered nati&ely by the tools presented will not be sufficient. s such% it is ad&isable to compliment your solution with an eBternal search and indeBing engine. ll of the tools presented here% can be used in con?unction with an eBternal engine% with &aried configuration re>uirements or de&elopment% depending on the tool. #f semantic search is not of &ital importance% the best search solution on the mar/et is the .pen Source solution% $ucene. We often use the product Sol"% which is nonA other than $ucene integrated in the form of a ser&er% i.e. responding to >ueries% and not to !# calls. .therwise% one should ta/e a loo/ at commercial solutions such as Sine>ua% 8Balead% ntidot% or 1elebros *this last is widelyAused in area of eAcommerce-.
[2.1.6] EpAselling W crossAselling

a) Cross selling 1rossAselling is associating one product with another complimentary product to encourage the customer to buy more. For eBample% one could crossAsell a camera with a camera case.
Page 43

0he association is often done manually directly by the webmaster who selects the products that he wishes to associate. b) %/ selling EpAselling is based on the same concept as crossAselling% but with upAselling we recommend to the customer% a range of products which is one standard up from the product they are currently &iewing. 5ere again% the association is generally made manually by the webmaster. c) Automatic deductions Some sites also offer information such as Z1ustomers who purchased this article also purchasedK=. #t turns out that this is often ?ust a crossAsell manually selected by the webmaster which does not ha&e any relation to the number or type of purchases other customers ha&e made. 0here eBist% nonetheless% se&eral practices which allow to gi&e automatic and semiA automatic information on articles associated with your sales:
2
Some modules really do base the information they gi&e on sales. 0hese processes necessitate eBtensi&e analysis of your catalogue and sales. @ost of these modules are eBternal and incur a fee. With some wellAthought out algorithms% we can also automatically return a random selection of products which belong to the same category as the selected product or display the :bestAsellers= in this category. 0here are many different possibilities.
(sCommerce does not nati&ely offer any crossAselling or upAselling feature. 8Btensions can be employed% nonetheless. %bercart% ($Bi8 O Prestas1o/ offer one single le&el of association *called Z ccessoriesZ in !restashop-. s such it is possible to 8#058" crossAsell ." upAsell. Magento offer three le&els of association: upAselling% crossAselling and similar products. !roduct which belong to the :similar products= category are presented not on the product page but on the :my bas/et= page. #n @agento 8nterprise% product associations can be made automatically using rules *for eBample: associate all of the red products of two gi&en categories% with each other-.
[2.1.7] S8.
S8. *or Search 8ngine .ptimisation- is to optimise the natural indeBing of a site. #n concrete terms% the tool can be used for S8. in different ways:
Page 44

2 2 2
@etadata management *presented in the 50@$ page header- associated with each product or category. E"$ reAwriting management for each productWcategory. utomatic generation of an intelligible site map for customers use and a technical site map for use by indeBers of Google% Pahoo and other search engines. Generation of a page referencing the /eywords the most fre>uently searched on your site. Wor/ must be carried out on the stability of E"$s Y in particular in the case of platform migration or a regrouping of all old E"$s to enter your site% in order to implement permanent redirection to new addresses. Finally% irrespecti&e of the tool used% a large part of indeBing in&ol&es 50@$ organisation i.e. templates.
2 2
(sCommerce offers practically no S8. functionality: no E"$ rewriting% no site map generation. #t does manage metadata% howe&er and eBtensions can be used here again. We recommend the Eltimate S8. eBtension in particular% which greatly enhances .s1ommerce functionalities. %bercart% ($Bi8% Prestas1o/ O Magento all manage E"$ rewriting and site map generation cleanly. ll four are of a similar standard. Magento offers% on top of E"$ rewriting% the capability of controlling all automatically generated E"$s. #t also manages the features mentioned abo&e *metadata% site maps% and /eyAword clouds-.
[2.1.9] 1ollaborati&e functions

We include in the collaborati&e functions% all of the Web ,.( tools which encourage interaction with webAusers. We often tal/ of EG1 *.ser +enerated Content-% which allows you to gi&e your commercial site a more interacti&e dimension. 5ere are the most common functions. a) Rating . Comments #t is becoming more and more common for webAusers to rate or comment on a product. 0he concept is simple: gi&ing your customers the possibility of submitting feedbac/ which can be read by other webAusers. 0his feedbac/ can be in the form of a comment or rating based on different criteria *price% >uality% design% etc.-.
Page 41

0hese comments and ratings are generally moderated% i.e. sub?ect to &alidation by a moderator before appearing on a site for general &iew.
Comment and rating management on the website www&fnac&com
While this practise may be appealing on paper% it does ha&e a downAside:

2
What image does a product gi&e when it has no customer comment or ratingV #f it hasnFt been commented on then the assumption is that it has not pro&en to be appealing to others% ma/ing it less attracti&e to the current customerK 5ow do you generate enough traffic to pro&ide a large &olume of commentsV #n general% the :comments= feature is useful for traders who ha&e a large audience and customer database. What do you do with negati&e commentsV Ho you publish them or filter themV Who are you going to delegate the ?ob of moderator toV 0his can be an important ?ob.
2 2
.n this final point% specialised ser&ice pro&iders now offer ser&ices to :li&en up= your catalogue by creating ficti&e customer comments to feed your site.
(sCommerce do not nati&ely offer the rating mechanism.
%bercart% Prestas1o/ O Magento offer comment and rating management functionality. #n @agento you can e&en associate a family of products with a list of rating criteria% the solution will then calculate the a&erage and add the result to the product sheet.
Page 43

b) Wis1list 0he :wishlist( notion was launched by maCon. 0his allows the customer to create a list of products they li/e and to send this list to their friends and family% around 1hristmas or their birthday for eBample[ 0he wishlist can generally be transformed into a bas/et in one clic/.
Magento O ($Bi8 nati&ely offer this feature. With @agento% customers are limited to one wishlist each. %bercart O Prestas1o/ ha&e an eBtension which enables wishlist management.
c) ?e+0ord clouds nother emerging notion in the eAcommerce sector is that of clouds of /eywords generated by your customers. 0he idea is that% as you cannot anticipate all of the associations that are possible between your products and the /eywords that your customersWpotential customers will use to search your site% you as/ your siteAusers to ma/e the associations themsel&es[ 0he concept uses the same moderator principle as comments% and allows to significantly impro&e your referencing% when the feature is acti&ated% by creating lists of products classified based on the needs of your customers.
Magento is the only solution to currently offer this feature. 5owe&er% the /eyword cloud is not conteBtualised to a category but common to the whole site.
d) Product com/arison When products ha&e se&eral different features *technical products% tourist trips% property% etc.-% it is difficult for the webAuser to compare them% ha&ing to go o&er and bac/ between product pages. 0he product comparison feature allows customers to simply select se&eral products% which will then be displayed on a single page so that you can compare features.
Page 44
Comparing three different televisions
Magento O ($Bi8 offers a product comparison feature. @agento allows to specify which product attributes will appear in the comparati&e chart. (sCommerce% Prestas1o/ O %bercart do not offer this feature. !restashop has included it in their roadmap% howe&er.
[2.,] Sales tunnel

[2.,.1] Das/et
0he bas/et is the temporary warehouse which ser&es to store the customerFs selected articles before they proceed to pay. 0he bas/et icon is &isible on all pages and a clic/ allows the customer to &iew full content% to modify >uantities% delete items% and place the order.
All o! t1e E Commerce tools ob;iousl+ o!!er bas,et management3
0here are% howe&er% slight differences from one solution to another.
Page 4B

a) Con!igurable bas,ets and /roducts Se&eral eAcommerce products do not allow customers to modify the product once it has been placed in the bas/et. 0he difficulty with modification is entirely lin/ed to the distinction that we made earlier between the model and article. When you add a siCe large% longAslee&ed% red% tAshirt to your bas/et% it is an article that you are adding and not a model. 8ach article has a uni>ue reference *SME-. So% we ha&e determined that the bas/et contains articles. #f you decide that you want your tAshirt in a different siCe% you will ha&e to delete the article from your bas/et and add the new article in the correct siCe% e&en if the model is eBactly the same.
&one o! t1e solutions presented herein currently allow this management of configurable bas/ets and products. Magento ha&e included this feature in their roadmap howe&er.
b) )ales incenti;es #n the same way as crossAselling and upAselling% some sites offer a new selection of complimentary products directly on the :your bas/et= page. 0his is the last place where you can offer your customers the possibility of adding to their bas/et before they proceed to pay% it is basically the e>ui&alent of the snac/ display you find at the till in your local grocery shop. 0he 8A0rader will generally decide to use one of the following methods:
2 2
.ffer a fiBed selection of leading or special offer products% irrespecti&e of the content of your bas/et% or .ffer a selection of products entirely based on the content of your bas/et where% as with crossAselling% the products proposed compliment the products already in the bas/et.
$he /rench site #aRedoute&fr offers a )you may also like( feature encouraging customers to add e%tra products to their basket&
Page 4/

Magento is the only solution to nati&ely offer the implementation of an :intelligent= selection based on bas/et content. #t is worth noting% that with a little templating% all of the solutions can incorporate the configurable :fiBedAselection= option% using a 1@S module for eBample.
c) Distance to /romotion s presented in fundamental concepts% the :distance to promotion= feature is another way of increasing the a&erage amount spent in your shop. #t basically consists in indicating% with each product they add to their bas/et% how much more the customer needs to spend in order to a&ail of the promotional offer *often free deli&ery on all order o&er \]R for eBample.-. Some commercial sites e&en go as far as to directly suggest a selection of products which bring your bas/et total up to the amount needed to benefit from the promotional offer.
'ere is an e%ample of this type of incentive !www&furet&com"
Prestas1o/ is the only solution which nati&ely offers :distance to promotion= display for free deli&ery. 0he other tools re>uire a little de&elopment in order to be able to offer this function.
d) Bas,et conser;ation What happens to the bas/et if the user doesnFt proceed to payV #f a technical problem causes the na&igator to close% you may want to retain bas/et content for the userFs neBt &isit.
Page 10

Some sites e&en send the customer email reminders when they ha&enFt completed their purchase.
(sCommerce only conser&es the bas/et of identified users *i.e. those who ha&e a site account-. Magento% Prestas1o/% %bercart O (!Bi8 conser&e identified customer and anonymous user *using coo/ies- bas/ets for a configurable period of time. @ agento Enter/rise can e&en be configured to send automatic email reminders.
e) @uic, order U>uic/ orderF form can be &ery useful for customers who /now the article reference *where they ha&e a paper catalogue% fro eBample-. 0his allows the customer to enter a list of references and then proceed to pay.
#a Redoute offers -uick order services
($Bi8 is the only solution to nati&ely offer this feature. Magento offers this feature &ia a community eBtension.
Page 11
[2.,.,] Heli&ery
a) Calculating deli;er+ !ees Heli&ery fees are calculated based on a number of elements:
2 2 2 2 2
0he weightWsiCe of the order 0he number of pac/ages to be sent 0he destination 0he bas/et total *deli&ery is often free on orders o&er a certain amount0he type of deli&ery re>uested *sameAday% eBpress% regular% etc.-
0here is no single rule for calculating deli&ery fees. 0he fee is generally lin/ed to the transporter *E!S% H5$% "oyal mail% etc.- used. 0he most common way of calculating deli&ery fees consists in presenting the fees for each transporter in matriB format and associating a weight with a destination *country or region-.
'RA&)P 1 A : B,g B : 1A,g 1A : #A,g C#A,g
$rance )%(( 6%(( 9%(( 12%)(
)/ain 4%)( 7%(( 1(%(( 16%((
Ital+ 6%(( 9%(( 11%(( 16%)(
%? 7%(( 1(%(( 1,%)( 19%((
#n practice% the trader applies a !i2ed deli;er+ c1arge to a gi&en Cone *the E.M. for eBample-% irrespecti&e of the bas/et content and charges &ariable rates on deli&eries to areas outside of this region. Some sites allow the customer to separate their order into different deli&eries *mainly due to differences in the a&ailability of items ordered-. 0he trader must then ma/e pro&ision for the application of oneWse&eral deli&ery fee*s- for this type of order.
Page 12

(sCommerce nati&ely allows to set a fiBed deli&ery amount which corresponds to a maBimum weight. #f the customer places an order that goes o&er this weight% then a ratio which is configured in the administration interface is applied. 1ommunity eBtensions allow to eBtend this feature to ta/e the order destination into consideration and interface with se&eral transporters such as 1hronopost or E!S. Magento nati&ely allow to interface with a number of transporters in the E.S. mar/et *H5$% E!S% Fed8B-. #t also allows to interface with other transporters: a community eBtension allows to deal with all transporters in a generic manner by managing ad&anced weightWdestination matriBes. 0hese are not directly configurable from the administration interface howe&er. s Prestas1o/ is a French solution% it nati&ely interfaces with 1hronopost O 1olissimo. #t also allows to graphically configure cost matriBes. %bercart nati&ely manages fiBed deli&ery fees alone. 1ommunity eBtensions can be used to enrich this feature.
b) )tandardisation o! addresses 8rroneous addresses are the pla>ue of any eAtrader% coming a close second to the management of returns. 1ustomers fre>uently enter incomplete or erroneous addresses when creating their accounts. 0he conse>uences can be serious for the eAtrader who may be unable to ma/e the deli&ery or attempt to deli&er the order to an ineBistent address. !rocesses ha&e been put into place to standardise postal addresses *in France this is referred to as "<;! A "estructuring% Standardisation% and !ostal ;alidationaround which commercial solutions are added which identify addresses that do not comply with a gi&en format% the solution can crossAreference the erroneous address with a postal directory to pro&ide a corrected &ersion of the address.
Hue to specifics from one country to another% none of the solutions nati&ely integrate this type of feature. 0hey are capable of interfacing with specialised tools *often a&ailable in SaaS mode-% but this does entail adaptation wor/. N S and @ediapost are among the most wellA/nown of these tools.
c) Dro/ o!! /oints :HropAoff points= are being used more and more in France where the leader in this ser&ice area% Miala% allows customers to pic/Aup their deli&eries in nonAspecialised dropAoff points such as the local newsagents% &ideo store% etc.
Page 13

0his means of deli&ery is ad&antageous to the customer as orders generally arri&e faster than to homeWwor/ addresses and it means the customer does not ha&e to ma/e themsel&es a&ailable to reception a deli&ery. #t is beneficial to the 8A0rader as it eliminates the problem of erroneous addresses% while reducing transport costs as deli&eries are not made more than once a day to each deli&ery point.
5ere again% the specifics of each dropAoff point mean that no solution nati&ely manages this feature. (sCommerce does ha&e a connector with the Miala networ/. Magento has a community eBtension for the @ondial "elai networ/.
d) In store /ic, u/ #n the case of a chain which already has a number of physical retail stores% customers can be offered the option of :inAstore pic/Aup=. 0his is often the first step in a multiAchannel business approach.
'ere is an e%ample of a site which offers this option
0his option can ma/e your sales tunnel complicated and generate greater integration costs: there are two different management modes:
2
0he products sold come from the shop that the customer is going to pic/ them up. 0his will effect physical shop stoc/ and not online shop stoc/% therefore the eAtrader will need access to all retail shop stoc/ in real time. 0he products come from a central warehouse and are deli&ered to the shop. $ogistical costs may be greater but technical integration is easier.
#n both cases the trader and his logistician ha&e to manage pac/age trac/ing as this is not delegated to a transporter.
Page 14

&o tool in this study integrates this type of :inAstore pic/Aup=. s such% modification of the sales tunnel is re>uired which would be easier with modular tools such as @agento or .FDiC.
[2.,.'] 0aBes
a) DA' 0he 8uropean taB system is an absolute nightmare for eAtraders. 0he applicable taB rate can &ary from one type of product to another *food product% technical product% luBury product-% from one type of customer to another *indi&idual% business-% and from one destination to another *France% the E.M.-. We will use the eBample of the French mar/et to illustrate the compleBity of the taB system. 0here are two taBes: standard ;. .0. and reduced ;. .0. 0he type of ;. .0. that is applicable &aries depending on type of product *reduced ;. .0. applies to cultural or food products for eBample#f product can be sold to professionals with an #ntra8E ; 0 number% the total eBcluding ;. .0. must be displayed. ll sales from France to a country outside the 8.E. must eBclude ;. .0. 0o complicate things further% the taB rates &ary depending on the order destination. 0here are two main destination categories:
2 2
France and the 8.E. H.@ 0.@ *French departments o&erseas-
0he table gi&es a brea/down of rates based on destination:
Destination Within the 8.E. H.@ 0.@ .utside the 8.E.
)tandard D3A3'3 Reduced D3A3'3 19%4T 7%)T )%)T ,%1T
<o ;. .0. applies <o ;. .0. applies
Page 11
While all of the tools presented ta/e these regulations into account *they all offer a mechanism wherein different categories of taBes are defined for each destination and type of customer-% care must be ta/en as regards presentation as this no longer depends directly on the choice of tool but rather on templates which are integrated. 0he rele&ant ;. .0. amount must always be displayed. #f your product prices are inclusi&e of ;. .0.% this must include ecotaB *see below- etc.
b) Ecota2 8cotaB is specific to 8urope. #t is a taB on products which function with the aid of electrical currents *&ia electrical soc/ets or batteries- or electromagnetic fields *for eBample% electrical appliances% computer e>uipment etc.-. 0his taB aims to ma/e the consumer more aware of the cost in&ol&ed in the future disposal of the product they are purchasing. 0his is not a set taB% it &aries depending on the product% and how easy or difficult it is to recycle. Deyond these display regulations that legislation has made pro&ision for *the ecotaB amount must be systematically displayed and that separately to the sale price *on your site% in&oices or ad&ertising material-% it greatly complicates the calculation of the total amount owed by the customer as there is ;. .0 on ecotaB[[ 8cotaB is calculated in the following manner: End /rice E 9/rice e2cl3 D3A3'3 F D3A3'3) F 9Ecota2 F D3A3'3 at 1G< HI) 0his calculation is made more complicated again if we apply a price reduction. 0his reduction must not be applied to the ecotaB3 as such the new price is calculated as follows:
En% '+#,e - ..'+#,e e/,$. (.A.T. 0 +e%*,t#on1 2 (.A.T.1 2 .E,ot)/ 2 (.A.T. )t 134 51
We are highlighting this compleBity as it is rarely understood by our friends on the other side of the tlantic% and as such tools do not always correctly manage this ectotaB * mericans ha&e a hard time coming to terms with the notion of a taB applied to another taB-.
(sCommerce does not nati&ely manage ecotaB% but it can be managed using an eBtension. Magento too/ some time before integrating ecotaB management but it is now fully operational. Prestas1o/ has always managed ectotaB.
Page 13

<either %bercart nor ($Bi8 nati&ely manage ecotaB. Further de&elopments are necessary to ma/e this feature fully operational.
[2.,.2] !ayment methods

a) (nline /a+ment .nline payment does not directly depend on the solution. s eBtreme caution has to be ta/en with online purchasing procedures% specialiCed pro&iders pro&ide payment gateways directly lin/ed with your ban/ing ser&ices. 0he first thing a trader does is to ta/e out a distance selling online payment contract with their ban/. 0he ban/ will suggest or oblige you to use a gi&en payment gateway *S#!S is used by the Socit Gnrale% for eBample-. 0hree main technical solutions share the French mar/et:
2 2 2
S#!S from .gone !ayDoB
0.S
0hese solutions generally offer the choice between payment in standAalone or integrated mode.
#ntegrated payment mode #ntegrated mode is the natural choice: the customer enters their card details directly into a form which is perfectly integrated into your sales tunnel and continues the payment process without ha&ing to lea&e your site.
Page 14
$he voyages-sncf&com website uses the integrated payment mode !based on the Atos Office Server solution"
0he commercial site must ob&iously ensure customer confidentiality and @ES0 <.0 sa&e ban/ing details transmitted to secure ser&ers managed by the thirdAparty ser&ice pro&ider. 0his payment mode is more aw/ward for the trader for se&eral reasons:
2
0his type of transparent integration necessitates direct dialogue with the payment gateway. #f the eAcommerce solution does not integrate this function nati&ely% it calls for ad&anced technical s/ills and a hea&y wor/load to incorporate it. 0he entire sales tunnel must be secure and it is the traderFs responsibility to assure the security of data entries. !1# HSS *still optional in France- specify a certain number of preAre>uisites to guarantee transaction security. Stand$alone payment mode
0he :standAalone= payment mode consists in delegating the entire transaction to the payment gateway. 0he customer is redirected to an eBternal site *which can be customised using the traders graphic charter- to enter their card details and finish the payment process. When payment has been made the customer is then redirected bac/ to the traderFs site where they see a payment confirmation message.
Page 1B
$he smartbo%&com payment page $he .R# indicates that we are no longer on the Smartbo% site but rather on Ogone servers
While customers may find this operating mode a little disconcerting% it is much easier for the eAtrader to implement as all security issues are passed o&er to the payment gateway pro&ider. s such% the trading site has no /nowledge of customerFs card details and has no need to manage a httpAS ser&ice. .f course% there is a downAside to this operating mode. Hespite e&erAad&ancing screen customiCation features% it remains difficult to /eep all of your siteFs conteBtual information &isible on the screen *bas/et% sales conditions% etc.-.
All o! t1e tools in this comparati&e study can be interfaced with the leading payment gateways in the French mar/et *S#!S% .gone O !ayboB-. 0he wor/load depends on which operating mode is selected *integrated or standAalone- and whether or not there is a connector between the tool and the gateway. (sCommerce has fully operational connectors to these different gateways% due to its time on the mar/et Magento% %bercart O Prestas1o/ also ha&e eBtensions with these three leaders. ($Bi8 only offer a S#!S connector.
Page 1/

b) Micro /a+ment Still relati&ely uncommon in France% microApayment solutions allow your customers to ma/e payment without ha&ing to enter their card details. @ost of these solutions *!ay!al% Google 1hec/out- operate on the electronic wallet model: the webAuser can add as much credit as they li/e to their account *which is managed completely independently to the eAtraders site-% this credit can then be used to ma/e purchases on different sites. 0his payment method is generally wellAadapted to small payments *hence the term microApayment-. Some sites charge premium rates on phone calls and S@S which allow the customer to ac>uire a ser&ice or product% these too are referred to as microApayments *for eBample% ringtones% screensa&ers etc.-. s with ban/ card payment% the implementation of a microApayment solution re>uires that the eAcommerce tool be connected up to a payment solution &ia a gateway. #ntegration is generally straightforward *50@$ code or +a&ascript% supplied by the payment ser&ice pro&ider% is integrated into site pages-.
(sCommerce% Prestas1o/ O %bercart offer community eBtensions which allow to interface with !ay!al and Google 1hec/out. Magento O ($Bi8 nati&ely integrate !ay!al O Google 1hec/out as payment modes that can be freely acti&atedWdeacti&ated using the administration interface.
c) -i!t ;ouc1ers Gift &ouchers can be used to purchase items online in the same way that they are used in traditional shops. 0he concept is simple: the customer can purchase as many items as they li/e using the gift &oucher towards payment or to co&er the total amount due% each &oucher being worth a gi&en amount. Gift &ouchers can come in physical or &irtual format *i.e. either a paper certificate or an email &oucher with a special code and details on using your &oucher-. Gift &ouchers are designed to be used once each% whether they ha&e been purchased directly in your shop *as a present for eBample- or ha&e been issued to you as a commercial gesture. 0hey are generally identified by a uni>ue number or code. Gift &ouchers can be used in two ways: As a met1od o! /a+ment: the customer enters their gift &oucher code when they arri&e at the sales tunnel. 0he &oucher amount will then be deducted from the total amount owed.
Page 30

As a means o! crediting an account* here the customer transforms their gift &oucher into a credit note% and as such issues credit to their account. 0he mode of use re>uires that the eAcommerce tool can manage credit notes.
(sCommerce does not nati&ely manage gift &ouchers. 8Btensions can be used% to implement this function as a means of payment *credit notes associated with customer accounts are not managed-. Magento nati&ely integrates this management of gift &oucher and credit note management *but only in itFs 8nterprise edition-. community eBtension can be added allowing to manage gift &ouchers with the 1ommunity edition of the solution. Prestas1o/ does not offer this feature. to allow this function to be integrated. t the time of writing% no eBtension is a&ailable
%bercart offers eBtensions to manage gift &ouchers and credit notes. ($Bi8 nati&ely integrates full management of gift &ouchers and credit notes.
[2.'] Dac/ office

0his chapter deals with operations that eAtraders commonly carry out &ia the management interface. We do not deal with the operations outside of the scope of the eAcommerce solution% e.g. general accounting% warehouse management etc.
[2.'.1] 8rgonomics
While the site screens are designed to be customised by the customer and always personalised by an integrator or the application of a theme% the Dac/ .ffice is often considered as a :ready to use= space. 0he elements which are ta/en into account when ?udging the ergonomics of the bac/ office are: 0he brea,do0n into wor/spaces: we traditionally find a space for the catalogue% one for customers% one for statistics% and one for the management of editorial information. Ease o! access to information: the procedure for finding a customer% product% order form etc. must be as efficient as possible so that users wor/ as producti&ely as possible. 0ools such as search engines% sortable tables% pagination systems etc. are primordial. A!!ordance *the capability of an ob?ect to suggest its own use-: as with the front office% the bac/ office must present buttons which indicate use *e.g. a red cross to
Page 31

indicate that an item can be deleted-. Jones are also reser&ed to pro&ide conteBtual assistance. 0he Juantit+ o! in!ormation presented to the user must be balanced: the capability must be a&ailable to mas/ information that is ne&erWrarely used. 0he internationalisation of the bac/ office into se&eral different languages.
(sCommerce has a clear interface *which is aging a little with graphics that arenFt o&erly impressi&e-% offering translations in o&er ,(( languages. Prestas1o/ O Magento offer wellAde&eloped userAfriendly interfaces using ?aB technology which impro&es the user eBperience. @agento pay eBtra attention to detail *for eBample% the inclusion of a dis/ icon which signifies that the current file has been modified but not sa&ed-. !restashop currently co&ers '4 languages while @agento co&ers o&er 1((. %bercart O ($Bi8 are difficult to get used to. Ebersoft as it includes too many modules on interfaces% .FDiC as it displays o&erlayAtechnical screens and splits information between se&eral applications% each with their own rules of use.
[2.'.,] .rders
a) )ale 0he sale or :receipt= is a central part of the order. Hispatch% in&oices% credit notes and returns all emanate from the sale. n order confirmation receipt presents all of the information relating to the customer *deli&ery address% billing address% payment method% etc.- together with details on the items ordered. 0he 8A0rader will often followAup the sale by communicating directly with the customer regarding the order placed.
All o! t1e solutions offer these features% though Magento does go the eBtra mile allowing to launch mass actions on se&eral orders *bloc/ all selected orders% for eBampleand follow up orders in "SS flows. Prestas1o/ allows to define message models to homogenise and facilitate communications with the customers. ($Bi8 is the only solution which nati&ely distinguishes the currencies of closed orders.
Deyond issuing a simple receipt% a confirmed order launches a life cycle consisting of se&eral different processes that the eAtrader must carry out: 0ending validation can indicate that the trader must accept the order *&alidity% chec/ for fraud% etc.-
Page 32

Order being prepared generally signifies that the logistician is retrie&ing your articles from stoc/ and preparing the order for dispatch% Order has been dispatched indicates that the order has been passed o&er to the transporter for deli&ery% Delivered1Complete indicates that the order has been deli&ered 0here are lots of other possible order statuses such as pending payment, cancelled, re2ected, returned, etc& not to mention those that may be specific to a gi&en eAtrader. s such it is interesting to analyse the fleBibility of each of these tools regarding these order followAup processes.
(sCommerce has three :transparent= statuses3 the administrator can change the status of any gi&en order without any controls. $i/ewise with !restashop which offers ten :transparent= statuses that can be enhanced directly from the Dac/ .ffice. Magento O ($Bi8 nati&ely offer ten statuses which can be enhanced. Deyond a simple status% Dac/ .ffice actions such as in&oicing and dispatch can trigger an automatic status change. For eBample% if an order :pending &alidation= is &alidated the status will automatically change to :your order is being prepared=.
b) Dis/atc1 0he &arious different deli&ery methods a&ailable to the customer are described on page 22. .nce the order has been placed% the 8A0rader must honour deli&ery under the conditions accepted by the customer in the sales tunnel. 0his in&ol&es: .rder preparation: a decision is made at this point as to how many pac/ages will be needed to dispatch the order% and as to which items will go in each pac/age. nother part of the preparation process is the issuing of pic/ing &ouchers for warehouse operators% followed by pic/ing. 0he issuing of delivery notes indicating the brea/down of the pac/age% or se&eral deli&ery notes where the order has been split into more than one pac/age. 0he deli&ery note is then placed in the pac/age. docket is issued in transporter format: each transporter generally ma/es solutions a&ailable to generate transport doc/ets. 0he 8A1ommerce solution manages doc/et issuing.
Page 33
'ere is an e%ample of a Colissimo transport docket
0he tracking number *displayed on the generated doc/etis often communicated to the customer so that they may use the transporters site to monitor deli&ery progress. 0he pick-upWhand-off of the pac/age byWto the transporter is purely logistic but may be triggered by a bac/ office action% which notifies the transporter by 8H#.
Magento% (sCommerce O Prestas1o/ ha&e modules to present the trac/ing number to the customer and nati&ely allow to &iew deli&ery notes. Surprisingly %bercart is the only solution to distinguish pac/ages from dispatches. &one o! t1e tools selected nati&ely manage doc/et printing% pic/AupWhandAoff re>uests% or pic/ing &oucher issuing% the last of which is often delegated to a warehouse management solution *W@S-.
c) Billing #n&oices are generally generated and made a&ailable in !HF format. 0hese must be accessible to the customer &ia their customer area% with the possibility of archi&ing.
Page 34

All o! t1e tools in this study include these features. Magento O Prestas1o/ are the only tools which allow to generate a !HF concatenating a batch of in&oices. .nly Magento O ($Bi8 allow to associate se&eral in&oices with a single order.
d) 'a,ing an order When an eAtrader uses the telephone as a sales channel% the use of the web bac/ office to ta/e orders can allow #.0. resources to be shared and customer information to be consolidated. 0he ordering bac/ office will be used ad minima by the after sales ser&ice. 0he web solution must be suitably adapted to allow the management of bac/ office orders:
2
0he interface must be of a &ery high standard as regards ergonomics and load speed% in order to limit the customerFs telephone wait time as the operator adds products to the order. 0he payment methods must be suitably adapted: for eBample the tas/ of entering ban/ card details is not always handled a telephone operator but is sometimes delegated to an interacti&e &oice ser&er.
!romotional offers may differ from those a&ailable online.

Magento offers a highly complete interface to manage telephone orders with% notably% an area which presents the articles recently consulted by the customer if they are registered on the site. @agento does not manage the last two points mentioned abo&e. ($Bi8 intrinsically incorporates this feature as it is a real multichannel tool *it can also manage physical retail outlets-. Prestas1o/% (sCommerce O %bercart offer &ery basic bac/ office order features.
e) '1e management o! returns @erchandise can be returned for a number of reasons: Does not live at this address% or erroneous addresses% mentioned in :Standardisation of addresses= page ),% can lead to the return of merchandise by the transporter. <o automatic mechanism deals with this situation% apart from the prior rectifying erroneous addresses.
2 2
Return at the initiative of the customer either because they wish to eBercise their right to cancellation within a limited period *6 days for most products in
Page 31

France-% or because the traderFs policy permits returns under certain other conditions. #t is this second instance which eAcommerce tools will deal with% &ia what are generally called "@ *Return 3aterial Authori*ation- functions. 0he solution is re>uired to pro&ide the customer with the means to re>uest the return of an article% specifying the reason for this return.
E%ample of a return re-uest on the site 4ente0riv5es&com
0his re>uest is then transmitted to customer ser&ices% where the decision is made whether or not to accept the return re>uest. #f the re>uest is accepted then a :re&erse logistics= process is launched% where the customer must complete a return form% transport doc/et and where the trader will follow return reception from their bac/ office. When this process is complete the trader will accept the product or not and either place it bac/ in stoc/ if it is in good condition *to increase the stoc/ le&el-% or retire the asset. 0he customer will recei&e one of the following in return:
2 2
n e%change for a similar product or different siCe: the choice of product is generally handled manually by the afterAsales ser&ice. refund by means of bank card credit6 this operation is once again managed by the payment service provider who provides A0 services to this end *see .nline payments page ))-. credit note to the &alue of the returned product*s- *deli&ery fees may also be added thus increasing the credit note amount3 management fees may be charged thus reducing the credit note amount-.
Page 33

#n all cases a receipt must be sent to the customer confirming the return and conditions% in the same way that an in&oice is issued upon payment confirmation.
&one o! t1e solutions presented herein nati&ely manage eBchanges% the generation of transport doc/ets% or credit reimbursement. Magento has included a "@ module in itFs roadmap. <onetheless% a community module pro&ides eBcellent refund and followAup management. :1redit notesWrefund receipts can be created nati&ely as can manually generated gift &ouchers. Prestas1o/ nati&ely manages return re>uests% return followAup and credit notes. n (sCommerce contribution offers a relati&ely complete "@ system.
[2.'.'] 1ustomer relations

a) Customer accounts 1ustomers generally create an account on a commercial site. 0hey can then use their account login details access certain information:
2 2 2 2 2
1ustomer profile Heli&eryWDilling ddress*es-
.rder history: trac/ing% in&oices% credit notes% order renewals% etc. Wishlist !assword
0he administrator can &iew this same information in the bac/ office% together with information on to the last items &iewed by the customer% items in their bas/et% the date of their last connection% etc. 0o di&ide up the customer database% the administrator may decide to place a customer in a gi&en category *to benefit from preferential offers% for eBample-. 0his segmentation can also be done dynamically in accordance with rules defined by the administrator% e.g. ;.#.!. customers are males who ma/e purchases of o&er 1((( in my shop o&er a , month period. s such customer may belong to one or more categories or :dynamic groups=. !ersonalisationFs or data eBtractions can then be carried out on each segment or category.
All o! t1e solutions in this study pro&ide a customer account feature. Magento offers easy access to customer information allowing it to be >ualified% by as/ing the customer >uestions about their shopping habits for eBample. Hynamic segmentation is possible and &ery ad&anced in the 8nterprise edition% allowing to closely manage the category rules.
Page 34

Prestas1o/ O ($Bi8 do manage customer groups% while %bercart and (sCommerce do not nati&ely offer this feature.
b) Communication 0he web is considered as a :cold= means of communication% often formal or e&en robotic. #t is &ital that the customers can eBpress themsel&es. #t is &ery important therefore to include a contact form andWor customer ser&ice telephone number *obligatory by law-% on your site. 0his is contact information is sometimes found both under the :1ontact= and :1ontact ^ "eturns= part of the site. nother option is to include an email feature. 0here are two types:
2 2
#n real time% this can be a nightmare to manage from a customer ser&ice tas/ management point of &iew. #n a se>uential manner% in the form of a :tic/et=% as with those sent to the technical hotline.
:;irtual agents= or :a&atars= ha&e also become more and more common o&er the last few years. 0his are &irtual customer agents who respond to messages or >uestions posed by the customer% responses can be generic *pulled from the F N-% or conteBtualised based on customer actions *by proposing a selection of products based on the customerFs purchasing history% for eBample-.
'ere is an e%ample of an Avator )#ea can help you( found on the 4oyages-Sncf&com website&
Page 3B

While all of the tools offer a contact form% none of them emphasise communication with the customer. Magento has a community eBtension for :message threads= with some ad&anced options such as the routing of customer >ueries to different internal ser&ices% or predefined messages.
[2.'.2] 1ommercial content

a) "ig1lig1ting website includes two types of content: editorial content and commercial content. 1ommercial content in&ol&es:
2 2
5ighlighting any ongoing promotion% 1reating :landing pages=: for a gi&en promotion% the trader may launch an ad&ertising campaign by purchasing sponsored lin/s% these lin/s leads the webAuser to a :landingApage=. 0he ob?ecti&e is to encourage the webAuser to carry out a specific action *call to action-% for eBample the completion of a form% placing an article in their bas/et% or some other action. 1hanging site design in order to relay the campaign details 1hanging product display% so that promotional products appear first% both at site category and search engine le&el.
2 2
($Bi8% (sCommerce O Prestas1o/ do not allow to carry out these actions without de&elopment. %bercart O Magento are more fleBible. %bercart% the fruit of a 1@S% allows the creation of ad&ertising type content on top of web pages. @agento offers a 1@S bloc/ publication system% landing pages made up of :widgets= *reusable modules used to display :new addition= lists for eBample-% and banners. Enfortunately none o! t1e tools allow to configure the search engine in order for promotional products to be ta/en into consideration.
b) Promotional o!!ers 0here are two types of discounts: those which relate to indi&idual catalogue items% and those which are applied based on the articles a customer places in their bas/et. Catalogue 1atalogue promotions are straightforward% they may in&ol&e:
2
1rossing out a price to offer a cheaper rate
Page 3/

2
.ffering a percentage reduction
From an operational point of &iew% these types of promotions are fre>uently applied to a whole range of products. 0he &olume of the catalogue can ha&e an impact on the usability of this type of promotion: certain tools create a new database entry for each promotion% on a catalogue of se&eral hundreds of thousands of articles performance can rapidly decline.
Prestas1o/ O (sCommerce manage these promotions% implementation is made product by product. ($Bi8 O Magento also offer these capabilities% but more important% they ha&e a &ery complete system of rules that allows to carefully define the conditions of application% based on product attributes *for eBample% we can define reductions on :sheets= or :du&et co&ers= in the homeware category-% on a gi&en period and e&en for a customer category *see customer accounts pg. 4)-. %bercart does not offer any of these features.
%as&et bas/et promotion is applied directly based on content. 0hese promotions can be presented in se&eral different ways:
2 0he price may decrease based on the >uantity ordered *e.g.: order o&er '
products and the unit price is reduced to 6-. for 2(% etc.-
2 0he price may decrease at certain >uantity le&els *e.g.: 1 for 6% ) for ,)% 1( 2 DuyAoneAgetAoneAfree *e.g.: buy 1 tAshirt get one free2 2
reduction on one article where you order another article *e.g. #f you buy a pairs of ?eans you get a tAshirt for 1( instead of ,(-. free gift *e.g. Get a free pair of sunglasses on all purchases o&er ')-.
5ere again% promotion conditions can be complicated to apply and &ary depending on the product% the bas/et total% the weight% the customer *country-% etc. Douc1ers or cou/ons are used at bas/et le&el: one of the promotions outlined abo&e may apply upon presentation of a &oucher or coupon only. 0he eAcommerce solution must then generate conditions of use:
2 2
0he number of uses per customer #s the &oucher transferrable or not *can it be used be a different customer% e.g. a friend-
Page 40

2
0he maBimum cost to the trader
Prestas1o/ O (sCommerce only manage regressi&e prices. Magento O ($Bi8 come% once again% complete with ad&anced rule management systems. <onetheless% @agento does not manage free gifts% and both tools are not capable of applying a promotion to :the cheapest article in the bas/et=. %bercart does not pro&ide any of these features.
[2.'.)] 8mailing
a) Alerts 0he customer *or potential customer- of a commercial site is li/ely to recei&e se&eral mails emitted by the platform: account confirmation% password reminder% order confirmation% dispatch confirmation% etc. 0hese types of mails are generally referred to as notification mails: the information contained in these mails is generally a&ailable on the website and eBtracted from same. system of alerts% closer to mar/eting% is used more and more fre>uently:
2 2
n email sent on the customers birthday reminder email sent when a bas/et is abandoned% or referring to the customerFs wishlist
0hese mails are always automatically sent from the 8A1ommerce platform% and formulated on a model predefined by the trader. b) &e0sletters nother widelyAused form of mar/eting and communication is the use of newsletters. s regards online sales% these newsletters generally present more than mere editorial information *news% etc.- by highlighting leading products and ongoing promotions. 0he following functions are needed:
2 2
subscribeWunsubscribe system% 0he edition of a newsletter: this can be either totally manual or partially automated by defining dynamic Cones which systematically present new products% for eBample% 1reation of directAmail areas: to personalise emails allowing the trader to insert &ariables such as the customers name% address% etc.%
Page 41

2 2 2
0he selection of a group of subscribers in order to target a rele&ant group e.g. customers who ha&e young children% 8mail routing *the technical sending mechanism- from the platform to the customers email inboB% FollowAup indicators measuring campaign performance *erroneous addresses% in&alid email addresses% the rate of newsletters opened% the number of :unsubscribe= re>uests following this campaign% etc.-
Specialised solutions eBist and can be added to the eAcommerce platform if necessary.
Prestas1o/ O (sCommerce allow *by way of a community eBtension- management of newsletter subscriptions and eBports in 1S; format. <otification email can also be eBchanged. Magento co&ers all needs as regards alerts% notifications and email mar/eting. component also allows to manage all aspects of the newsletter eBcept reporting.
[2.'.4] Statistics W reporting

s e&o/ed in fundamental concepts% all good traders must analyse performance and identify areas that can be further de&eloped. 0his analysis is based mainly on the following aBes:
2
Sales: the indicators used are often turno&er based on time% types of customers *seB% geographic location% etc-% products% special offers% etc. s opposed to the real world% the web also allows to analyse what webAusers are willing to buy by obser&ing the content of abandoned bas/ets. ;isits: the analysis of traffic to a site is generally delegated to eBternal solutions% in SaaS mode as with Google nalytics *G - or Riti% or in hosted more &ia tools such as !iwi/. 0hese solutions allow to analyse the transformation rate *&isits to sales- by product type% mostA&iewed products% the rate of abandons in the sales tunnel% etc. 1ustomers: the web allows to gather information relating to the customer% this can be useful to impro&e the customer database and categorise it based on location% beha&iour *e.g. Find customer who &iewed a certain product sheet-% purchases% etc. We can also loo/ at how account creation has increased. !roducts: this is where the :best seller= notion deri&es from *the product which has been sold in the greatest >uantity-. From a management point of &iew this also allows to access information on stoc/s that are running low% or the increased sale of a gi&en product. While products in a physical shop are &isible to the manager% this is not the case with eAcommerce: products that are not selling may remain in the catalogue for a long time% reports will disclose this
Page 42

information allowing the manager to consider whether their &isibility online needs to be modified. 8A1ommerce tools are not as ad&anced as specialised :business intelligence= solutions *see our White !aper on :.pen Source Dusiness #ntelligence=- but they do pro&ide a certain amount of information nonetheless.
(sCommerce O %bercart offer &ery concise statistics on best customers% and mostA &isited O bestAselling products. ($Bi8% Prestas1o/ O Magento display dynamic reports which re&eal trends on the analyses mentioned abo&e% but unfortunately do not pro&ide a great deal of decisi&e information. 0hey all include modules which allow Google nalytics to be easily integrated. ($Bi8 goes a little further offering a :Dusiness #ntelligence= framewor/ to de&elop customised reports. Smile has also de&eloped a connector bet0een Penta1o *an .pen Source Dusiness #ntelligence solution- and @agento.
[2.2] 8Bternal interfaces

s we presented in paragraph :,.'., Y #nteraction with the #nformation System= page 1'% an eAcommerce tool alone is rarely sufficient to pro&ide full independent management of an online shop. s such it is necessary to plan interaction with other eBternal systems as early as possible *an accounting tool% 8"!% 1"@ etc.-.
[2.2.1] Hata eBchange

a) Data 0he data that has to be eBchanged &aries depending on the conteBt% for eBample some traders prefer managing web customers in the online shop% other prefer to synchronise this information with their 8"! solution. 8Bchange often in&ol&es:
2
0he catalogue 0he products and product features 0he shop layout *categories% etc.!rices and promotions General profile information * ddress% email address% etc.-
1ustomers
Page 43
0he preference as regards recei&ing emails *optAinWoptAout0he :receipt= summariCes order details 0rac/ing information "eturns #n&oices and credit notes
.rders
b) 'riggers Hepending on the data to be eBchanged in different shop processes% the initiator may be the 8A1ommerce solution or an eBternal application. #rrespecti&e of which is used% the triggers are either:
2
Planned tas,s: the 8A1ommerce platform launches actions periodically. #t is generally the operating system that is in charge eBecuting this tas/ *1".< for EniB systems-. E;ents: when an e&ent occurs *a new customer account is created% an order is placed% etc.-% a specific section of code is eBecuted% this code may call for a data eBchange action. 0his is data eBchange in real time where an action immediately launches a >uery with an eBternal ser&ice *>uerying warehouse stoc/% for eBample-. '1e na;igator: while the user is browsing they may call on pages which launch processes. 0his may indicate an eBchange% as is the case with online payment: the payment page leads to an eBternal platform which collects the payment information *order amount% the rele&ant shop% etc.-.
[2.2.,] @ethods
0he connections to be carried out between the online shop and the rest of the information system are issues to be decided at #.S. architecture le&el. 0he ob?ecti&es are to maintain co1erence between the different systems% and to guarantee e21austi;it+ by ensuring that message can be deli&ered. 0he two main methods are used are direct and indirect interfaces. a) Direct 0his is where systems eBchange information directly% each playing a role in the use of resources made a&ailable by the other and in the &alidation or data sent or recei&ed. 0he main drawbac/ with this is the strong coupling between the systems: if one has been changed or modified% the eBchange mechanisms need to be recreated and
Page 44

de&elopment needs to be carried out on all systems *or in ,n cases where n represents the number of systems connected to the eAcommerce platform-. 0he ad&antage with this solution is that it is easy to implement and is fleBible. b) Indirect Some architects may ad&ise the use of a middle layer *a middleware-% mas/ing the specifics of system from the other by carrying out data transformations and information mapping% itself. @iddleware also pro&ides a data deli&ery guarantee: if the system is una&ailable it will store the information and try again. "eports can also be generated to analyse flows eBchanged and identify bloc/ing points. !lease see our White !aper on :@iddleware oriented messages= 4 for further information.
[2.2.'] @eans W resources

0here are se&eral ways to set up eBchanges between the software solution and the information system. From the easiest to implement to the most complicated% you will find:
2 2
$lat !ile e2/orts: in 1S; or R@$ format% data is made a&ailable in a file placed on a F0! ser&er or sent by email% Web ser;ices: S. !% R@$A"!1 O "8S0 protocols allow a system to use the functions of another system% and this in real time. 0hese eBchanges are standardiCed thus easier to implement. Furthermore% an application de&eloped in +a&a or .<80 can use web ser&ices made a&ailable by a software tool written in !5!. Pou will find% for eBample% a :Get.rder$ist= function which sends bac/ the list of orders. APIs: modern solutions are created on an :ob?ect= model. n ob?ect can be a customer% order% or product. n !# allows an eBternal application to manipulate these ob?ects by opening limited access to a certain number of basic ob?ect operations to them: order creation% obtaining a product price% customer profile modifications% etc. n !# generally supplies a better le&el of access than webser&ices but re>uires more compleB and less standardised technical integration. Databases: this is% of course% where all the information is stored% using basic to compleB data models. SN$ >ueries can be launched% from an eBternal system% in read or write. We strongly ad&ise that you a&oid this type of method% for a number of reasons: the data model can change from one &ersion of the software to another% ma/ing de&elopment obsolete% furthermore no &erification is carried out during data manipulation which can lead to functional inconsistencies *an order without any articles% for eBample-.
3!ttp:**+++.smile.fr*liIres$)la&cs*s steme$et$i&frastr'ct're*middle+are$orie&tes$messages
Page 41

(sCommerceKs main drawbac/ here is its age: only direct calls to the database allow to eBtract data. 1ontributions do allow 1S; eBports nonetheless. Ebercart has the same drawbac/ without ha&ing the community contribution to ma/e up for it. Prestas1o/ has an !# which allows to de&elop its own data importsWeBports. 0he community has made order and product eBport modules a&ailable on !restastore. Magento supplies the entire range of means mentioned abo&e: webser&ices% a :dataflow= module allowing the Dac/ .ffice to directly configure and eBecute customer importsWeBports% products% orders *&ia an eBtension- and more ad&anced capabilities with its eBcellent !# *e&en though this is not yet &ery well documented-.
Page 43
[B] )%MMAR6
>uic/ loo/ at this comparati&e study may lead the reader to thin/ that @agento is the clear winner as regards .pen Source 8A1ommerce solutions. While Magento currently offers best o&erall functionality% it is not adapted to all needs and all mar/ets. #ts technical compleBity ma/es it difficult to access and a pretty high consumer of resources. #t is illAadapted to the needs of the small business companies that are eager to ?oin the world of online trading% but at minimal cost. #t is a &ery solid% modular% solution of an eBtremely high standard% capable of supporting the most ambitious sites that may be sub?ect to a great deal of traffic. nother strength of @agento is itFs remar/able bac/ office ergonomics. real effort has been made to fluidify common processes to a maB% both in terms of catalogue management and sales administration. solution li/e Prestas1o/ is better adapted to mediumAsiCed businesses: it is lighter% easier to access% more userAfriendly% offering a whole range of :out of the bo%( functions which are sufficient enough to accompany a shop as it grows% and all of this for a small initial in&estment. 0he remaining solutions in this study are not without interest and should be closely monitored: %bercart benefits from an undeniable ad&antage regarding content management% than/s to its perfect integration with Hrupal3 while .FDiC remains a good alternati&e to +a&a% on condition that the necessary time is ta/en to master the compleB and sometimes illAdocumented framewor/. While there may not be a clear winner% we do ha&e a clear loser[ (sCommerce% seriously losing pace o&er the last few years% has now been surpassed by the newcomers and by !restashop in particular% which is emerging as a serious potential successor. 0he only thing that could sa&e this tool now is a rapid awa/ening of the .S1 community to seriously o&erhaul of the entire solution. t present% we feel that it would be eBtremely ris/y to launch a pro?ect using this tool. Finally% we cannot emphasise enough the importance of selecting a tool based on real needs and not on the buCC generated by the solution community or a cle&er editor. .ur study does not distinguish one product as being superior in all respects% but among the solutions you will find that which perfectly meets your specific needs and limitations. Smile eBperts are at your ser&ice to help you with the selection and implementation of your eAcommerce tool. 0he creation of an efficient eAcommerce website is an eBciting ad&enture% one we would be delighted to accompany you on[

WP - Smile - E-Commerce PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

WP - Smile - E-Commerce PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

E-Commerce

Open Source Solutions

E-Commerce, open source solutions

[1] PREAMBLE [1.1] Smile

E-Commerce, open source solutions

[1.1.1] Some Smile references

E-Commerce, open source solutions

[1.,] 0his White !aper

E-commerce turnover in billons of Euros

Source: iOE Study E-commerce report 2008/Fevad/K !"

E-Commerce, open source solutions

[1.'] 0he benefits of an .pen Source Solution

E-Commerce, open source solutions

E-Commerce, open source solutions

%P9= #%?,C9 #%8?T7%= ..............................................1

[2] FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS .................................................8

..................................................B #D#T9M#. ...................................11

52.26@7,9CTC 7=>%,MC T,(=#>%,MC (=(8D#9 ...................................................../

[3] THE SELECTION OF TOOLS...............................................18

E-Commerce, open source solutions

[,.1.,] Sell but not ?ust that

E-Commerce, open source solutions

[,.,] Hirect% #nform% 0ransform%

E-Commerce, open source solutions

E-Commerce, open source solutions

E-Commerce, open source solutions

E-Commerce, open source solutions

E-Commerce, open source solutions

5ere are the standard purchasing steps on a trading website:

E-Commerce, open source solutions

[,.'] 0he trading site within the #nformation Systems.

E-Commerce, open source solutions

[,.'.,] #nteraction with the #nformation System

E-Commerce, open source solutions

E-Commerce, open source solutions

[4] '"E )ELEC'I(& ($ '((L) ['.1] !reamble

E-Commerce, open source solutions

E-Commerce, open source solutions

E-Commerce, open source solutions

E-Commerce, open source solutions

E-Commerce, open source solutions

E-Commerce, open source solutions

['.6.'] "DS 1hange

E-Commerce, open source solutions

['.6.2] eJ !ublish W 0ypo' W +oomla

E-Commerce, open source solutions

[5] $%&C'I(&ALI'6 [2.1] 1atalogue

E-Commerce, open source solutions

E-Commerce, open source solutions

#ongchamp online shop

E-Commerce, open source solutions

E-Commerce, open source solutions

E-Commerce, open source solutions

E-Commerce, open source solutions

[2.1.2] 0ypes of products

'ere is an e%ample of a configurable product

E-Commerce, open source solutions

E-Commerce, open source solutions

E-Commerce, open source solutions

Downloadable media files *films% music% boo/s% re&iews% photographs-.

Servi es *ban/ account% insurance% etc.-

Reservables *cinema tic/ets% train tic/ets% concert tic/ets% flights% etc.-.